A blessing or a curse for Jalon Walker?
Cross-training players is nothing new at Georgia under Kirby Smart.
What you don’t see every day is someone with enough versatility that Smart’s had to rename a position to properly quantify how he sees that role to be.
In the example of junior linebacker Jalon Walker, Smart has come up with a new term.
"He’s played a little bit of what we call Sam-Star. He played out in space. He did rush off the edge. He is still a really good edge rusher,” Smart said. “He knows that was part of the development plan because he has seen Quay (Walker) do it. He has seen other football players in our program develop as an off-the-ball backer and an end-of-the-line linebacker. He does both of those things really well.”
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, Walker is indeed a rare bird when it comes to lining up as an inside backer or edge rusher on passing downs.
“Me being athletic enough to play the inside linebacker position and have the outside linebacker frame is rare,” Walker said. “Not many people have done it in the past, although I’ve seen them do it here. I put my full trust in them (coaches).”
Smart’s example of Quay Walker, who went on to become a first-round pick for Green Bay, is an excellent comparison.
The current Packer’s ability to line up across the second level in Georgia’s defense created all sorts of competitive advantages for defensive coordinator and position coach Glenn Schumann.
Jalon Walker said he and Schumann are using the spring to find out what works best for him.
“We’re just trying to find that inside backer dynamic for me, finding that role for me. Finding the balance of playing both outside and inside,” he said. “It’s something I’ve been working on all spring, just honing my skills and learning all the ins and outs of the defense as well.”
Some may feel Walker’s versatility could be seen as somewhat of a curse. After all, there’s something to be said for being able to focus on one position.
However, that’s not how this native of North Carolina sees his situation.
“I wouldn’t call it a curse. I’d call it a blessing to do what I’m able to do. Not many players have that opportunity. It’s not something I take lightly,” Walker said. “I appreciate it. Having versatility creates more opportunities for me to be on the field and gives more opportunities for other people as well. If there’s someone else in a certain package that can do this, I can go to the other one. It creates opportunities. It creates opportunities within any skill set, within any packages, so that’s great for me.”
Wherever he plays, Walker is just trying to learn as much as he can.
To have the type of role he hopes to play next fall, the more knowledge he’s able to gain, the better it will be for all involved.
“I go to the inside backer room to watch film, not for myself, but in trying to learn everything. I try to learn all positions, the jack, money, and mac,” Walker said. “I take on all four positions to keep my brain as sharp as I can, because you never know how that knowledge will help me play that call.”
