From Walk-on to Experienced Veteran, Ryan Walk is Staying Hungry

With an O-line comprised solely of Mario Cristobal recruits in place, a former walk-on has made a name for himself.

When he arrived in 2017, Ryan Walk was not a household name on Oregon’s roster. But in the time since, he's quietly gone from a walk-on to a trusted part of Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal's vaunted offensive line. 

Mario Cristobal’s entire philosophy is about physicality, especially in the trenches. So when Ryan Walk got an opportunity in the spring of 2020, he showcased his physicality and technique.

So much so, that the staff couldn't keep him off the field. Like Mirabal says, he put it on tape, and that earned him a starting job with the big fellas up front.

This week, Mirabal spoke about Ryan Walk’s incline from a scout team player to a starter for the Ducks last season. For the most part, it all came down to one thing: seizing the opportunity.

“That Spring when the Lemieux’s left, the Throckmorton’s left, and then that first spring after those guys left, we had about eight guys-- O-linemen at camp, that’s it.” Mirabal said. “He takes every rep, he doesn’t get hurt. It’s more important for him to be out there than be in the training room. That’s his mentality that’s his philosophy so he just took advantage of all these opportunities.”

Walk agrees that the spring of 2020 before COVID shut everything down was critical for his growth. Going up against the best and learning from the best, that allowed him to be the best version of himself and turn eyeballs the way that he did. Not only on the field, but also when coaches went back to break down film and saw his technique and quickness both physically and mentally on display.

“That first spring ball was crucial. We lost six or seven guys that were extremely high level, highly talented guys,” Walk said. “So for us to come in and step up and start to be the leaders of the group then, and just show that we can play at this level and we can sustain the culture and the level of success the previous guys had. I think that was really important.”

Even though Walk currently has a starting job, he understands how talented the offensive line room is and that the staff is recruiting players that will push him for reps. The standard is set even higher when Mirabal says the best five offensive linemen are starting regardless of position. 

Walk knows it is important to always keep that chip on his shoulder like when he came in as a scout team walk-on.

“I come into practice every day like someone is trying to take my job because that’s the reality of this business. Someone is always trying to take your job,” Walk said. “My job is to make sure that doesn’t happen so I always come in with a chip on my shoulder and I don’t wanna let that happen. In order to do that I’ve gotta improve every single day so that’s what I try to do this camp.”

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