Freshman tight end Khamari Anderson knew if former high school teammate Deone Walker liked Kentucky that he would also like playing for UK. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky freshman tight end Khamari Anderson knew plenty about UK sophomore defensive lineman Deone Walker, a freshman all-American in 2022, before he got to Kentucky because they were high school teammates at Cass Tech in Detroit.
“I knew plenty about what type of guy Deone was. He’s a dog. He’s just God-gifted. He was born with that size and athleticism,” the 6-5, 240-pound Anderson said. “We met in high school and even then you would see and watch him move and wonder how does he move that fast being so big.
“It was a good matchup in practice when we went against each other. He beat me most of the time but it was good work. It made me tougher.
Walker confirmed that Anderson “did not beat me” in high school workouts.
“Khamari is a dog, I will say that. That might be biased because we went to the same high school but I know his work ethic like I have never seen before,” Walker said. “He came in, watched film every night, was working before and after practice, eating right. He’s going to make a difference for us.”
Walker’s amazing freshman season and huge expectations this season set a high bar for Anderson.
“He likes a challenge and I feel like he will rise up to the occasion because he wants to be even better than me,” Walker said.
Anderson didn’t pick Kentucky just because Walker had but it also did not hurt his thinking to sign with the Wildcats.
“I know he is a good guy to be around and he has good character judgment. If he liked it here, I knew I would love it here, too,” Anderson said.
For the first time this year, Kentucky even dropped the 350-pound Walker into pass coverage against Florida. He broke up a pass that was intercepted by teammate Trevin Wallace that set up a touchdown.
Is there anything Walker cannot do?
“No. He is a pretty athletic guy. He really is,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “He wears wide receiver shoes. I saw him out there and I was like, Really? Really? You are the only guy that big I’ve seen wearing wide receiver shoes.”
