Deone Walker reveals extensive offseason work to elevate his game to new level

Deone Walker is already one of the best players in the country with what he has done through two years at Kentucky. Still, there’s plenty of development left in his game, especially with what he has been working on this offseason.

Walker shared what he has been practicing on ahead of his junior season during an interview on ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Friday. At his size, he explained how it’s sometimes hard to stay as low as he needs to in his stance. That’s why he has been training with certain drills to get his massive frame down and lower.

“You know, one of my big cons was my pad level, you know,” Walker said. “So I’ve been working, doing bear crawls, you know. My high school coach called me after the season – ‘Do 10 bear crawls today’. I said yes, coach, you know.”

“It helps me work with my conditioning and my pad level, you know. I like to do a lot of my bag, footwork drills under the chute, learning how to stay level. I’m doing quite a bit,” said Walker. “I feel like I’m getting less exhausted as I’m bending, you know. Still running, still going full speed.”

Again, at 6’8 and 345 pounds, it can be tough to get that down enough for a matchup with an offensive lineman.

Even so, it’s also a pro for him as his combination of size and agility is just not something you often come across in the sport.

“I feel like it helps a lot just because my length, you know,” said Walker. “Missouri game? I got a sack just because I extended and spun off the offensive tackle, you know. So I feel like it’s just a great plus to have long arms.”

KSR’s Nick Roush agreed in that assessment of Walker during his own interview with Staples. Simply put, they just don’t make them like Walker is build very often.

“He’s massive and he is movable but the motor is really what sets him apart,” Roush said.

All of these skills and measurements have led to great numbers during his pair of seasons in Lexington. Walker has totaled 95 tackles and 8.5 sacks to go with four deflections and a forced fumble. That includes his sophomore stats with 55 tackles and all but one of his sacks with a team-leading 7.5.

Now, as a junior, Walker projects to be even better as he takes another year’s worth of a step. That’ll certainly be so too if he can get down and better positioned at the point of attack like he’s wanting to be.