4-star DT Deone Walker showing NFL potential, Kentucky in the mix

Deone Walker likens the explosion in his recruitment to that of his favorite anime character: Ken Kaneki.

Kaneki, the main protagonist of the popular anime series Tokyo Ghoul, is a hard worker who met a drastic change in his life that ultimately led him to improve as a person while helping protect others. While it’s a bit more complicated than that, it’s a parallel that works for Walker, who uses a picture of Kaneki’s face as his profile picture on Twitter.

Clocking in at roughly 6-foot-7, 330 pounds, Walker is another rising star out of the class of 2022. He attends Cass Techincal up in Detroit, MI, the same high school that current inside linebacker for the Kentucky Wildcats, DeAndre Square, attended. Walker has played both sides of the line but is being listed as mainly a defensive tackle by most recruiting services.

In just the last two weeks, the Michigan native has pulled in life-changing offers from the likes of Florida, Penn State, LSU, Georgia, Iowa, Arkansas, Tennessee, and a few others. Kentucky got in the mix earlier this year, extending Walker an offer back in the middle of January. He had already received offers from programs such as Michigan State, Michigan, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Tech before UK even came into the picture. Once Florida offered, his recruitment blew up.

#AGTG #BBN #OL
💙🤍

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Extremely blessed to receive an offer from the university of Kentucky!!! pic.twitter.com/8HfliYdPsc

— 51 (@deonewalker51) January 12, 2021

While 247 Sports ranks Walker as a three-star defensive tackle, Rivals has him tabbed as a four-star recruit of the class of 2022 and the eighth-best player from the state of Michigan. Judging by his recent offer sheet, he appears to be trending towards becoming a consensus four-star prospect. One member of Cass Tech’s staff–defensive line coach Nicholas Martin, who has coached multiple college and NFL-level talents–says Walker is a future NFL player.

“He’s a Sunday player. Whatever college gets him will be lucky to have him,” Coach Martin told KSR. “Great young man who loves his teammates. With the right coach and right defensive line coach at college, he’ll play on Sundays for about 10 years.”

Martin has been at Cass Tech for five seasons now and has coached several players who went on to have successful football careers. He says that five current NFL players hail from Cass Tech.

But before Walker can reach that point, he has to make an impact in college. Several high-profile programs have offered to give him that opportunity, although it might be some time before any of them figure out where Walker will land. He says he wants to make a college decision during the middle of the upcoming fall football season and that a list of his top 15 choices should come out in the next “month or two.”

That being said, Walker was able to disclose the schools that he’s been in contact with the most as of late: Oregon, Penn State, Missouri, Georgia, LSU, Florida, Kentucky, Arizona State, and Michigan. As of right now, he only has one visit planned this summer, and that’s an unofficial trip to Michigan. Walker also said that Missouri wants him to take an official visit this June. 

When it comes to the Wildcats, Walker has established a solid relationship with both offensive line coach Eric Wolford and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale. They’ve been able to discuss how Walker would fit into Liam Coen’s new offense as an offensive tackle. Walker has the temperament of a defensive tackle but is interested in playing whatever position is needed of him.

“They’re great guys, they’re real genuine. I can tell they really want me,” Walker told KSR about the UK coaching staff. “They want me as an offensive tackle. They have a pro-style type of offense now, so they’re going to really try and work me up to starting at left tackle.”

Walker also holds another Kentucky connection in DeAndre Square and his previous playing time at Cass Tech. While the two of them never played on the same high school team together, they’ve been able to communicate about Kentucky and what it’s like to actually be on campus and playing within the team. Those conversations went well, and Walker said that Square was someone he could trust and puts value into what he had to say.

Being recruited by a team is a far different interpersonal connection than actually playing for them, and Square has been able to help differentiate those two for Walker.

“From what I know about Square, who was similar to Deone in that they’re sort of quieter guys, is that Square came back his freshman year and he really liked [the Kentucky coaching staff],” Coach Martin added. “And that goes a long way when they can talk to a teammate.”

Walker is open to the idea of attending an out-of-state school like Kentucky, but it will take a special connection–one that can make him feel like he hasn’t left home. The lack of in-person recruitment has limited that ability, so he plans on taking more visits this summer to help create those bonds, although some stick out more than others.

“I’ve already talked it over with my family and they said they just want me to go to the place that best suits me,” Walker added. “With out-of-state schools, I need to be able to trust the coaches, and my parents need to be able to trust them. Me going out of state is like me walking somewhere blind. I don’t know what I’m gonna get myself into.”

Luckily for Kentucky, they’ve been in touch with Walker since January while Coach Clinkscale has been working the Michigan area for years now, creating an atmosphere where local high school coaches feel as though they can trust him.

“Coach Clink[scale] has done an excellent job the last couple years that he’s had from the area.” Coach Martin said. “He’s making sure he’s showing up in the metro-Detroit area and I know that’s important for Deone and his family, that family-type atmosphere.”

Even though he believes Sundays are in Walker’s future, Coach Martin knows that it won’t happen overnight.

“You’re not in the NFL day one, it’s a process to get there. Deone embraces the process and the work he’s put in.”