Deone Walker Sr. Photo
Even though Deone Walker is now an All-American defensive lineman at Kentucky and a projected high first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, he had only one scholarship offer after his sophomore season at Cass Tech (Michigan).
He started getting more attention but a month into his junior season he had offers only from Michigan, Pittsburgh and Michigan State. A few months after his season ended he got offers from Virginia Tech and Kentucky. Soon he blew up and offers from numerous national powers came rolling in.
“Everybody didn’t know how good he was and then his high school coach took him and a couple of other guys on a SEC road trip to Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia. After that, our phone would not stop ringing,” said Deone Walker Sr. “It’s funny how it all went. Michigan came to the school to look at another player, saw Deone working out and asked who that kid was. The COVID year when he was a sophomore definitely slowed recruiting some but it all worked out okay.”
Even though Kentucky won the recruiting battle, that was not his father’s preference at the time.
“I didn’t want him to go to Kentucky. I wanted him to go to Michigan or Georgia. He wanted to play SEC football so that cut Michigan out. He wanted not to play with the best but against the best. He also trusted coach (Mark) Stoops the most,” Walker Sr. said.
“That was hard for me but me and my wife gave our input and left it to him. Every school he considered was good. He had a top 15, then a top 10 and then a top five and was really a top three.”
The UK player’s mother had him list pros and cons of his final three schools and when the defensive lineman did not like a few things on his visit to UK she had him “voice his opinion” to the UK coaches about what he did not like.
“They ironed out what he didn’t like,” Walker Sr. said.
The UK junior has developed a special relationship with defensive line coach Anwar Stewart, one reason he never considered transferring, but it did not start out that way.
“Coach Stewart was cool but we were not sure about him at the beginning. He did everything he told Deone he was going to do and has pushed him to make him the best player he can be,” Walker Sr. said.
When he needs motivation from home, it likely will come from his mother.
“My wife is tough. I am more lenient with him. She is more in his face and tougher on him,” Walker Sr. said. “He may not want to hear some things just like most of us don’t but when it makes sense he knows we are going to tell him like it is.”
The UK junior’s parents always thought he could be an elite player. He started practicing with a Little League team at age 5 even though he was not allowed to play until he was 7 years old.
“My nephew is like a big bother to him and Deone would go to practice with him until he got old enough to play. He used to actually cry at practice but he went from that to being the last one to leave. He would just stay there and work even as a kid. Once he caught on, he has always been a leader of the defense for any team he has been on,” Walker Sr. said.
He’s also been a productive basketball player at times and started playing in elementary school. His father said basketball made his footwork better.
“He could shoot but he did not like to shoot. He liked to draw the defense and then pass,” Walker’s father said. “We had to yell at hime to shoot because he loves passing. He’s just always been a team guy.”
What he didn’t always love to do was talk. His father said he was “always quiet and gave one-word answers” to questions in high school.
“He would give you the fewest words possible. He would not elaborate on anything,” Walker Sr. said. “I worked a lot. I was a semi-driver and had a lawn service. My days were long and busy. He let it go on for five months before he told me he was having trouble seeing. He just didn’t elaborate on anything.
“Now it amazes us when we watch him doing interviews. I will post an interview (on social media) and friends will still ask when did Deone start talking like that. Nobody believes it but he usually doesn’t even tell us when he does an interview.”
Walker has a lot to talk about considering he has 29 quarterback sacks in 31 games at UK despite almost always being double teamed. He has 110 total tackles and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin recently said he was “unblockable” and Pro Football Focus currently has him projected as a top 20 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Deone Walker
Photos by Deone Walker Sr.
