Crunch time is approaching in the recruitment of five-star defensive lineman Travon Walker.

The Thomaston (Ga.) Upson-Lee standout admits that the pressure of the recruiting process is mounting as he moves closer toward making his college decision.

“Everything’s still going good. It’s getting pretty stressful, though,” Walker told TCI. “Now it’s time for me to sit down and just think and wait for the right moment, find the right school.”

Walker, a consensus top-50 overall prospect in the 2019 class, is working with a top five comprised of Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia and South Carolina.

Clemson continues to recruit him hard, with defensive tackles coach Todd Bates and defensive coordinator Brent Venables leading the charge. The 6-foot-5, 263-pounder said he hears from the two coaches on a daily basis.

“Me and Coach Bates, we don’t always talk about football. We talk about family,” Walker said. “He asks about my family and we talk about his family, too. It’s not all football orientated. We talk about some of everything. And Coach Venables, we talk about some of the same stuff but we talk football, too.”

Venables views Walker as a versatile defensive lineman that could play both the tackle and end positions in Clemson’s scheme.

“He said with my athletic ability I could be kind of like Christian (Wilkins),” Walker said. “He said I can range from inside to some outside stuff.”

Walker most recently visited Clemson for the Auburn game in September after making an appearance at the Dabo Swinney Camp last summer.

Clemson hopes to attract him back to campus for the All In Cookout on July 27. A number of other schools are holding social gatherings that weekend as well, and Walker is still deciding whether he will attend the cookout or visit somewhere else.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Me and my family are still talking about it because there’s a lot of schools that have something going on like the 28th and 27th, so I’m not sure.”

Walker intends to render his commitment in the not-distant future, but doesn’t know exactly when it will come.

“I’m really not sure at the moment,” he said.

A few factors loom large as Walker looks at his college options and goes through the decision-making process.

“My education, then depth chart is going to play a big role, and teammates that I play with and the coaching staff,” he said. “And then also a winning program. I’m a competitor. I don’t like to lose.”

Walker made his first official visit to South Carolina in early June. He plans to take other officials to his top schools but hasn’t yet set any dates.

The 247Sports Composite ranks Walker as the No. 2 defensive tackle and No. 24 overall prospect in the class of 2019.

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