John Walker Talks Picking UCF over Florida, Being a Hometown Hero
UCF’s biggest catch on National Signing Day for high school football recruits, figuratively and literally, was John Walker. He’s a defensive tackle that’s 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds.
He had a slew of offers from across the country, and it came down to a battle between UCF and Florida before deciding to play for the Knights. As for how close the Gators came, here’s Walker’s response during an interview at the Under Armour All-American Game media day.
“I really didn’t have a specific spot where Florida was at, but you know, I was pretty close with Florida. Because I’ve been there quite a few times. So I really enjoyed, uh, going over there and being with the coaches and everyone over there (at Florida). But, you know, it was a pretty close race I would say.”
Why UCF in the end to gain Walker’s letter of intent?
“It was just like the bond that I had with (defensive tackles) coach (Kenny) Martin, and I liked everything that he had in store for me and everything like that. And I just, everything, be a hometown hero, too.
“I was born in Florida and raised in Orlando, yeah, like five minutes from Orlando. Saying I’m like a hometown hero because I lived here my whole life. I like everything over here. My whole family is down here.”
As for the billboards that UCF put up around Orlando that showed recruits, including Walker, he liked that as well.
“It was pretty cool. You know, it was pretty cool like seeing me on the billboards and everything like that. You know, I’m just blessed.”
As for newly hired defensive coordinator Addison Williams, Walker gave feedback on the new coach as well.
“He wants to win. He wants his players to be disciplined and be coachable and everything like that.”
As for now being in UCF practices during the lead up to the Duke game, Walker also discussed what that was like compared to being at Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola.
“It’s been good. You know, it’s just a little faster now. I just gotta get used to it and stuff like that.”
Keep up with UCF News! Check out, like, and subscribe to Inside The Knights on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
