Former Michigan running back Kareem Walker, a former five-star recruit and at one time the No. 1 back in the country, has determined his next stop.

He's headed to the SEC.

Walker, who spent the 2017 season at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, has verbally committed to Mississippi State, he announced Sunday night on social media.

In a lengthy letter published to Twitter, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Walker called it a "difficult" last two years -- one that included his unexplained departure from Michigan.

"I needed to step back and gather myself refocus on my goals and I have," Walker wrote. "Attending Fort Scott was an eye opener, it really (put) into perspective where I was in life and what I needed to do to get where to where I want to be in life, again both on and off the field.

"I regained my humbleness, matured and open my mind to communicating with my mentors Dr. Greg Harden, Coach Bryan Murray the Riley family, my mother along with some people here in Kansas."

Walker arrived in Ann Arbor in 2016, enrolling early to try and get a jump on the rest of the recruiting class. But he took a redshirt after academic issues kept from seeing the playing field.

Things didn't change much in 2017. He played sparingly, appearing in five games and rushing for 68 yards and a touchdowns, and was never able to carve out a spot on the depth chart. Sometime over the summer, Walker made the decision to leave.

He resurfaced at Fort Scott, where head coach Kale Pick told MLive in late July he welcomed Walker with open arms and a fresh opportunity. In seven games at Fort Scott, Walker rushed 64 times for 207 yards and a touchdown.

Walker took a visit to Mississippi State over the weekend, and concluded it with him making announcing his plans to transfer.

A Irvington, N.J., native, Walker rushed for 4,563 yards and 55 touchdowns in high school. He was a 2016 selection for the Under Armour All-American Game and a consensus five-star prospect out of DePaul Catholic High School.

Walker has two years of eligibility remaining and will be able to play in 2019.