How XFL Success Vaulted Cavon Walker Onto Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have five former Maryland Terps on their 2020 roster, including defensive lineman Cavon Walker who signed with the team in late March. The addition to the Steelers’ rotation gave the defense a productive defensive lineman looking for a chance to prove himself on his third NFL team in three years, but it helps to have longtime friend Derwin Gray in the same locker room.
The connection between Walker and Gray dates back to their days in high school, when the duo transferred from Dunbar High School into Friendship going into their sophomore seasons. The fast-rising program under then-head coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim added two more key pieces on a loaded defense that featured current Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, former 49ers cornerback Jalen “Teez” Tabor and Panthers linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. “From then on, we’ve kind of had the same path. For us to be on the same team together, it’s just amazing. We talk about how we came from blocking each other in practice in high school and I got to play against him last year when I was on the Chiefs,” Walker told All Terrapins. “I played against him on the highest level and now, playing with him. It’s a real blessing.”
Walker’s three seasons at Friendship helped position the 6-foot-2, 278-pound prospect as a coveted recruit, but the 6-foot-2 defensive lineman would be remised to ignore how the competition in practice fueled his development. “I started with a workout program and my workout program was the hardest program I had ever done in high school. Then the learning aspect, we had class with guys, actually learning how to do a playbook, wristbands and all that, so it actually slowed the game down for me early so that when I got to college I was able to run through whatever I needed to.”
Walker signed with Maryland in the 2013 class over Houston, NC State, New Mexico and Purdue after a familiar face recruited him to College Park—current head coach Mike Locksley. “Locksley is my guy. He recruited me coming out of high school, but he made the game of football fun again. He changed the whole style of our rally before games, motivated us and the most important thing is when you want to play for a coach, that’s when the team moves forward. He got guys motivated, he’s always been a guy that knows how to talk to the guys and pushing us toward the same goal. Locks is my guy, always will be.”
The D.C. native found time as a true freshman on special teams before playing just two games the following season before a season-ending injury sidelined him. After regaining his footing in 2015, Walker became a staple across the defensive line as a junior as he appeared in all 13 games on his way to a career-high 30 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He pointed to his season-high five tackles and sack against Indiana as the game that “I knew I could get where I wanted.”
Walker set a new career-high the following season with 38 tackles and six tackles for loss as he started in all but one game, but after going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft, the long-awaited call to NFL came.
“You always dream of that moment. It though it didn’t go exactly how I wanted with the draft but to get that phone call and have those teams calling and choosing the Bears was a blessing. Family was happy, I was happy—dream come true.”
Walker was among the last casualties of roster cuts going into his rookie year before the Chiefs signed him following the 2018 season. Walker stayed patient through the waiting period but that came to a close when the New York Guardians selected him with the eighth pick in the third round. It was a short stint for the new league, but the platform for players to showcase themselves in hope of an NFL contract served Walker exactly what he needed. Walker finished the five-game season with a league-leading 4.5 sacks as interest from the NFL increased once the future of the XFL was in limbo. “For the most part, it was the most fun I had playing football in a long time. I got back to my love for the game, probably just showing people that I don’t belong in the XFL and it’s a steppingstone for where I want to be and I kind of proved that in the five games we had. Wish it could’ve a full season. I met some great guys out there, great coaching staff, great time in the New York-New Jersey area, but my main goal is to get where I am now.”
“At the end of the day, I knew what my goal was and knew where I had to get to. You bring your lunch, your pail and you get to work.”
The Steelers announced the signing of Walker on April 13 to become the third former Terp in Pittsburgh alongside running back Trey Edmunds and longtime friend Derwin Gray. The reunion didn’t stop there as just twelve days later, the Steelers selected running back Anthony McFarland and safety Antoine Brooks to add plenty of familiarity. “Me and Ant, ‘Twan, we’ve been close since our days at Maryland, so no love lost there, those are my guys. Trey, he was always a cool guy and he reached out when I signed. Me and Derwin, we never lost touch and we still talk every week.”
In an offseason with so much uncertainty about the upcoming fall season, many had to get creative with their offseason diligence to the everyday craft. “The world was shut down for a little while so I couldn’t really get into a weight room, but I made do with what I had as always. But Cam [Spence] has been a big pillar for what I’ve been doing.”
Spence, a former four-star recruit out of St. John’s, was medically disqualified ahead of the 2019 season and spent it as a student assistant with the program but this offseason gave the former defensive lineman a chance to build on his dreams. That started with the brotherhood between Spence and Walker as the duo began training together.
“I told Cam he can be my chef. I said, ‘bro, you can come to Pittsburgh and be my chef.’ Then one day, we went out there and trained and I told him he can be my personal trainer too,” Walker joked. “Then, next thing you know, people he knew from St. John’s started coming out then we were freestyling drills at first and then he started staying up until 1 or 2 in the morning coming up with drills we can do, then next thing we know, people are hitting us up to train because they thought the drills look good. Next thing you know, we had five guys to groups of 15 to 20 working out with us.”
That includes 49ers rookie Javon Kinlaw, Panthers linebacker Jermaine Carter, Stanford defensive lineman Thomas Booker, Bears linebacker Keandre Jones and former Maryland defensive lineman Jesse Aniebonam among the long list rolling through College Park.
“We didn’t see this happening, we started training like three months ago and to be where we are now is a blessing. The recognition he’s getting, I’m more than proud of him. People don’t know that he’s only 21 years old.” The looming uncertainty hasn’t left any doubt in Walker’s mind as he prepares to leave his mark in Pittsburgh. “My thing is now, I want to make sure I’m ready if there is a season. I won’t be chilling, wondering if we’ll play, I’m going to be ready. My mindset hasn’t changed at all—I got something to prove and I’m going to keep working ‘til I prove it.”
