Jalon Walker closed out his sophomore Georgia football season with a flourish.
He rang up two sacks and five quarterback pressures in the SEC championship game against Alabama and then tied his career-high with four tackles against Florida State in the Orange Bowl rout.
What’s next for a player listed as an inside linebacker who showed he’s a playmaker on the edge during a season in which he led the Bulldogs with 5 sacks?
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“I feel like my role will be the same, but I feel like it will expand as well,” Walker said before the Orange Bowl. “Going into next year, we have a lot of ideas going what we will do expanding my game, expanding the worth of my game as well. Just seeing that aspect, it’s exciting for me getting ready for next season.”
Walker averaged 17 snaps per game this season, but tied for his second most of the season with 27 against Florida State.
“I think he’s just a unique individual and we’re going to find ways to use him more moving forward,” defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann said.
Walker lined up 62 percent of the time this season as an edge rusher on the line, with 35 percent at inside linebacker and 3 percent in the slot and led the team in quarterback hurries with 19, according to Pro Football Focus.
He played equally on the edge and at inside backer against Florida State.
Lining up inside, he helped force Florida State quarterback Brock Glenn to the middle where he was tackled on one play. In one series he lined up on the edge on first down and at inside linebacker on third down.
Schumann was told that the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Walker considers himself an HLB—hybrid linebacker.
“He likes that term,”…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/versatile-rising-junior-jalon-walker-090318353.html
Author : Athens Banner-Herald
Publish date : 2024-01-24 09:03:18
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