‘That’s a different cat right there.’ Meet the UK freshman lineman already turning heads.

Anyone who was surprised when Kentucky football freshman defensive tackle Deone Walker threw a Florida offensive lineman to the side and swallowed a Gators running back in the backfield late in the fourth quarter to help the Wildcats clinch a win in Gainesville was not paying attention during preseason camp.

“That’s a different cat right there,” super senior linebacker Jacquez Jones said of Walker after one scrimmage. “... He’s special. Nobody that big should be moving like that.”

Perhaps it’s the visual juxtaposition of a 6-foot-6, 330-pound lineman wearing No. 0 on his jersey, but there is something about the Wildcats’ behemoth that is impossible to miss on the field.

A four-star prospect in Kentucky’s much-hyped 2022 signing class, Walker arrived on campus at a position where freshmen typically struggle to make an early impact in the Southeastern Conference. The fact that Kentucky’s defensive line rotation was already loaded with former four-star prospects with multiple years of college experience made it easy to overlook Walker in the projections of which freshmen might play key roles this season.

But when seen in person, Walker is impossible to overlook.

“He’s been told he needs to be an impact player,” said Marvin Rushing, Walker’s former coach at Cass Tech High School in Detroit. “Kentucky told him that they were bringing him to be an impact player. Day one opportunity to play and compete for a starting job. They looked at him to help take this team to the next level, along with the pieces they already had in place.”

Walker has backed up his preseason hype with nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup through three games.

In his first career start last week against Youngstown State, Walker tallied three tackles, one-half tackle for loss and one pass breakup, but it was the week before at Florida where Walker announced his presence to the college football world.

With Kentucky nursing a 23-16 lead and having just missed a 38-yard field goal that could have clinched the victory, the Wildcats’ defense forced Florida into a third-and-5 play. Given the time and score, it was a likely four-down scenario where the Gators would use two plays to gain the 5 yards.

Walker had different plans though as he powered by Florida center Kingsley Eguakun to meet running back Nay’Quan Wright shortly after he was handed the ball. Any hope of eluding the tackle was quickly diminished as Walker threw Wright to the ground for a 1-yard loss before any other Kentucky defenders could even reach the play.

Instead of an incremental gain toward the first down, Florida had moved backward. A fourth-down stop from the Kentucky defense followed, setting up the possession in which the Wildcats converted the game-clinching field goal.

“A lot of it is natural ability,” UK defensive coordinator Brad White said of Walker’s eye-popping tackle for loss. “But also understanding sort of the structure of our defense and what has to get done from that essential stunt movement we were running at that point. He did a great job of executing, and then the physicality sort of took over in violently shedding a really talented offensive lineman and making a play on a really good back.

“That’s a really good play that we need to build off of, and we need more of those throughout the season. Hopefully we’ll see them.”

Rushing has no doubts more plays like that are coming from Walker. His older Kentucky teammates agree.

Super senior linebacker DeAndre Square, a fellow Cass Tech graduate, was impressed with Walker’s attitude after he arrived on campus. Despite recruiting hype large enough to match his massive frame, the freshman did not act like anything had already been given to him.

That same work ethic stood out to junior center Eli Cox, who lined up against Walker often in preseason practices.

“Deone is young and he’s raw, but he’s very physically gifted,” Cox said. “He’s very tall, but he plays with a lot of length. He plays with good explosion and strength for a young guy. Just something he’ll be able to provide a great look for us on offense because he’s built like every other SEC defensive lineman we see every day.”

Walker is far from a finished product, too.

“Physically, he’s probably more developed than most freshmen d-linemen would be at this point,” White said. “I think he works hard at it. Mentally, he’s in a good spot, but he’s still a freshman.”

Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops said Walker’s play dipped late in his college debut against Miami (Ohio) as the physical toll of playing a full college game took effect. There is still work to do on the fundamentals of pass rushing, too. Brute strength alone will not be enough to win one-on-one matchups against SEC linemen who are almost as big as Walker.

Walker played offense and defense for Cass Tech, but White was quick to note playing both ways in high school is still less physically taxing than playing a whole game on defense in the SEC.

Rushing noticed smaller opponents shying away from contact with the massive Walker at times in high school. He cautioned that players as large as Walker are often told to take it easy on smaller teammates in practice and smaller opponents in games at lower levels of football.

Now that he can pick on players his own size, Walker must master the amount of preparation it takes to ready his body for that physical toll each week.

“I really just learned if I go north nobody can stop me,” Walker said. “I’ve got to cool down and let the game slow down for me.”

An introvert by nature, Walker does not seem to have much trouble flipping the switch from mild-mannered off the field to violent on it. Rushing was impressed by the leadership role Walker took on as a senior at Cass Tech, going out of his way to help teammates who did not share his physical tools prepare to play despite his quiet nature.

Kentucky does not need Walker to lead in a defensive line room with more experienced players, but it does need him to make rapid progress in his own game for the more difficult SEC tests that lie ahead.

Rushing estimates Walker has already shed close to 30 pounds from his playing weight in high school, and predicts after a full year in a college strength program Walker will even more closely resemble the type of defensive linemen selected on the first day of the NFL Draft. Walker’s former coach is clear that is his pupil’s ceiling.

Expectations are high. The future is bright. But as evidenced by the play at Florida, even a raw version of Walker is a significant weapon for a veteran Kentucky defense.

“Deone is a freak in terms of his agility, quick twitch,” Rushing said. “... As athletic as I’ve probably had as an offensive and defensive lineman. The stuff he does comes naturally. I just know they’re going to get the best out of him.

“So, I’m not surprised that he’s starting, I’m not surprised that he’s having this level of success. It’s what we’ve told him. I see him as a Sunday player. We saw him being a huge impact player at the collegiate level.”

Next game

Northern Illinois at No. 8 Kentucky

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

TV: ESPN2

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Kentucky 3-0, Northern Illinois 1-2

Series: First meeting

This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 12:08 PM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription