South Carolina misses out on legacy edge rusher Julian Walker to Michigan

Gamecock fans had a lot of reason to get their hopes up with Columbia native Julian Walker, but the four-star edge and son of South Carolina's strength coach is headed to Michigan.
Ole Miss v South Carolina
Ole Miss v South Carolina | Jacob Kupferman/GettyImages

The Gamecocks were in the thick of the race for one of the most intriguing edge prospects in the 2025 recruiting class, but ultimately, Columbia native Julian Walker is heading north. The Dutch Fork standout committed to Michigan on Tuesday afternoon. He chose the Wolverines over South Carolina and a host of other major programs.

Walker, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound edge rusher, is ranked No. 136 nationally and No. 3 overall in the state by On3. He is also the No. 20 edge in the country after rising dramatically in the recruiting boards after a dominant junior season.

This one stings a little more for the Gamecocks, because Walker's father, Jamil Walker, is a South Carolina strength and conditioning coach. His father being in that role gave the Gamecocks a deep personal connection in this particular recruitment. However, despite that, Michigan surged ahead after Julian's official visit to Ann Arbor.

 “As a parent, I’ve been blown away, and the coaching side of me has been blown away, seeing it from places I’ve been in my life,” Walker told The Wolverine after the official visit. “And the father in me is like, ‘How in the world, as a father, do you not see yourself in a place like this, that’s so in depth with getting these guys prepared for life and putting a standard up?’ Their standard is out of this world. You’re really at a loss for words. You really are.”

South Carolina remains aggressive on the recruiting trail, but missing out on a homegrown prospect like Walker is a tough pill to swallow.