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Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White certainly appreciates how good sophomore defensive lineman Deone Walker is and why he’s receiving the preseason accolades he has been — and there have been a lot of them.
That’s what happens when you make 40 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss, as a true freshman defensive lineman in the Southeastern Conference like Walker did last season.
White understands Walker will have to adjust to the preseason attention he’s received and how opposing teams will try to negate what he can do.
“Obviously, as a player, you have to be mentally ready for that. You have to be mentally ready for the attention that comes. When there’s attention and when there’s double teams, some frustration can set in,” White said after practice Thursday.
“If they’re putting two of them on you, you’ve got to do something special to beat a double team. You’ve got to mentally prepare yourself and not forgo your technique or forego the defense because you feel like you’re not making as many plays as you were when you were getting singled.
“You’ve got to stay true to yourself and let the play come to you.”
White says there’s no debating that Walker is a disruptive player but both White and defensive line coach Anwar Stewart have been encouraging Walker to be more consistent.
“There are days out there that he has this incredible energy and everybody feeds off it. Defense, offense, everybody feels it. And now it’s for him to learn how to bring that every single day and it’s hard,” White said.
“Nobody can just be cloud nine every day. But the really good ones, the elite ones, they find a way to push through their bad days. Their bad days are better than most, especially from an energy standpoint.
“He’s still growing through that. He’s really improved in that area. I feel him more all the time in practice.”
One Response
Every double team leaves someone unblocked – big advantage for the defense. Don’t think this has happened since Johnson & Too Tall Art Still.
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