Clemson Still Motivates Deone Walker

Deone Walker worked in the offseason to make his body even better. (Larry Vaught Photo)

Finishing 7-6 last year and losing to Clemson in the Gator Bowl is still on All-American defensive lineman Deone Walker’s mind going into this season.

“It was really more so just having a bad taste in my — our mouths, leaving our seniors off with an L (loss) last year. Now we’re just worried about week one. We’re worried about getting everything squared away and keep the main thing the main thing,” said Walker.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops wants his 6-6, 345-pound star to just be himself and continue to improve his overall game and Stoops believes he has progressed.

“He has worked really hard physically on his body. He’s working hard to continue to be a strong leader for us and make a difference on and off the field,” Stoops said.“He’s very disruptive obviously with the length that he has, the way he plays.

“He’s a unique individual. There’s not too many guys playing that look like him and that have that kind of size, speed, and the mobility that he has. He’s a very explosive guy for his size.”

Walker has started 25 of the 26 games since he’s been at Kentucky and has 95 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 8.5 quarterback sacks in two seasons. He had 55 tackles with 12.5 tackles for loss last season.

Kentucky veteran offensive tackle Marques Cox often practices against Walker and says that’s the only way to fully appreciate how dominant he is.

“You underestimate how quick he is just because of his size. He’s really versatile. He’s really good with his hands. He’s really nimble. He can make you miss for how big he is. It’s ridiculous to me,” Cox said. “He’s a really good pass rusher, a really good player. He’s a very explosive, very great person. I can’t wait to see what he can do this year.”