Jalon Walker ready for offseason opportunity at inside, outside linebacker
Just as he does Georgia’s defense, Jalon Walker fits into the recent news in several different ways. Over the weekend he was the team’s representative on the SEC Football Leadership Council. Then, there was news pertaining to both the inside and outside linebacker rooms over the last two days with Glenn Schumann looking like he’s set to stay in Athens for another season and Marvin Jones Jr. missing spring practice.
No matter what way you look at it, Walker is going to be an important piece of Georgia’s defensive plans next season, his sophomore season, meaning that this spring is a big one for his continued development.
“I feel like I’ve been successful this year in establishing a role in the third down package,” Walker told DawgsHQ during the College Football Playoffs. “Being a freshman coming in, it was a great opportunity to play. I feel like being an outside and inside backer, it’s very versatile and very beneficial for what my future has to hold.”
Walker said he didn’t have a preference between playing inside or outside. That’s a good thing considering he could be asked to do both at times during the 2023 season. Georgia returns both starters on the inside – Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon – and signed three of the top seven linebackers in the country for the Class of 2023 so the need isn’t as great there. Still, it’s a skill he possesses. And when it comes to outside, it’s not necessarily where he most naturally fits based on his frame, sideline to sideline speed and leadership ability could be where he’s called to play with Nolan Smith and Robert Beal both off to the NFL. With Jones Jr. missing spring practice, there’s certainly an opportunity to get a greater number of reps there too.
“I can go to inside and outside backer. I feel very comfortable at both because in high school I played mostly outside backer and then coming here at the beginning of my career playing inside backer,” Walker said. “I feel like it’s very beneficial to the game plan we’ve had each week and beneficial for my future career … Being an inside backer, you like to know what everybody’s doing on the field because you’re the leader of the defense. Having that perspective of knowing everybody’s jobs, it makes your job a lot more easy.”
Walker finished his freshman season with nine tackles including two for loss with a single sack. He played in all 15 games, slowly but surely seeing more and more snaps as the season went along, playing double-digit snaps in five of the last six games including all three of the postseason contests. That’s a testament to the kind of player he is and also the kind of player he’s capable of being.
“I feel like it boosted my confidence a lot,” Walker said. “From the first game against Oregon to now, my confidence has skyrocketed. It’s given me to confidence to play better and confidence in myself to establish what I need to do in certain situations.”
“I always feel like improvement to be better and to work, it’s a great opportunity every single day to make a better opportunity for yourself,” he continued. “Just establishing more roles in the future, being able to play more than third down and special teams, that’ll be a great opportunity for me.”
