John Walker Enrolls at UCF, Scouting Him at UA Game
John Walker begins his UCF career today. He confirmed that last night after the Under Armour All-American Game. That’s the first piece of good news. Now, onto the discussion of what Walker did to impress during the actual game.
This is just my own personal account of Walker last evening, as well as from seeing him collectively for three seasons. With that in my mind, he showed me something last night that was not possible to be witnessed before.
Throughout his high school career, Walker has all but just ran over the poor guy in front of him. He’s a bear to block; brute strength that cannot be taught. Further, he proved time and time again that he loved football and has taken to the coaching provided to him at Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola.
Putting those components together, there were more times that this writer could count that Walker pummeled someone in front of him that caused some bitter beer face, if one will, when thinking about the poor guy that just got smashed by Walker.
During the Under Armour All-American Game, however, he went up against a collection of other highly talented athletes. That made last night’s evaluation of Walker the most important to date. As a starting point, here’s what Walker said afterwards.
“I only had like one tackle,” Walker said with a disappointed face. He’s always held himself to a high standard. That’s good. Still, he was being hard on himself. Here’s why.
He did not have many chances at tackles or sacks.
During any high school football all-star game, the offensive line just did not have enough time to properly gel. The coaches from any of these games knew it going into the game. That’s why they changed the play calling from what was normal.
Numerous screens, quick throws, quarterback sweeps and anything to the perimeter that was possible, that’s how these games have gone for years. Last night was no exception, for the most part. The defensive lines almost always dominated along the interior, so offensive coordinators avoided the middle of the defensive line more than what would happen in a normal game. It was smart.
That kept Walker from more chances to add to his statistics, but he did not let it deter him.
Walker applied pressure on the quarterback a few times, having shown his quickness and burst off the line of scrimmage. While no sack was delivered, he kept grinding and playing hard play after play. That’s a rare trait for a big guy that’s roughly 310 pounds. Here’s a video of him going all-out down the field. He’s No. 55.
That hustle added to Walker’s ability to hold the point of attack even when he was double teamed. That was the other question going into the game. Walker did well, having created a wall that made running backs change their path. He didn’t even need to make the tackle to impact the play.
When a defensive tackle accomplished that task, no matter the level of play, that’s when linebackers roamed free and had the opportunity to make a tackle. Walker made that happen several times last night.
Overall, Walker went up against the best players at the Under Armour All-American Game and played well. He’s going to have a chance to be an instant-impact recruit for UCF.
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