Sept. 28, 2005

by Jared Gelfond, Illinois Sports Information

It should be no surprise that in his first year on the field, Derek Walker is already making an impact. For the 6-4, 245-pound Illinois defensive lineman, playing up to the competition is something he had to start doing at a very early age.

"I loved playing sports and I was always pretty good at them," said Walker. "But I was always taller and bigger than everyone in my class. In certain leagues I couldn't play with the kids my age because I was so much bigger, so I had to move up in age groups. But looking back, it was good for me and it worked out."

Born in Chester, Pa., right outside of Philadelphia, Walker moved to the Midwest with his family shortly thereafter and got involved with sports almost immediately. At the age of five, he began his sports career, but it wasn't on the football field.

With his parents against him playing football, Walker turned to the baseball diamond.

"Baseball was the main sport that I played growing up," reminisced Walker as he prepared to go to practice and get ready for the Iowa Hawkeyes. "I was a first baseman and actually played some center field, but I stopped playing at the age of 16 when I started concentrating on football."

Beginning his football career at Glenbard East High School, Walker didn't immediately fall in love with the game, but that soon changed.

"My freshman year I played football because I was big, and I think everyone expected me to play that, but after that I really started to like the game and want to learn more. Some time in my junior year I started to get some looks and get recruited by colleges.

After I saw that I had a chance to play in college, I really started to get serious and started to develop my game better."

After registering 125 tackles, 11 sacks and 30 hurries in his senior year and earning SuperPrep all-region and PrepStar all-region honors, there was no question that Walker was going to be highly sought after.

But when his recruitment began, he certainly didn't dream he would end up in Champaign.

"I grew up rooting for the Michigan Wolverines, and that's where I wanted to go when I first started thinking about playing football in college. I don't know what happened, but once I stepped foot on the Illinois campus it was like, `Michigan who?' and Illinois just felt more like home."

Derek Walker fights off a block in the win over San Jose State Sept. 10.

And the Illini fans and coaching staff are extremely glad he is here. After redshirting his first year, Walker has made an immediate impact on the defensive line. He has started the first four games, accumulating 10 tackles---two of which were for losses---and has been a bright spot on the defensive side of the ball.

Even with his immediate impact, there is no doubt that Walker has a long way to go to reach his full potential. As part of a very young defense, Walker is still learning `on the go.'

"I have learned from the older guys how to anticipate plays, read stances and understand an offense's tendencies. I really didn't do that stuff in high school, and there it was more of just playing and whatever happened, happened. It is more of a mental game on this level."

Helping his development is the always-audible defensive line coach, Tom Sims.

"Coach Sims is a wild guy and he is real intense, but he is also a cool guy, too. He is calm and collected sometimes, and you can talk to him about anything. He always has your back, and that's a great thing.

"When he is on the football field, though, he has a whole other personality. He is intense all the time, never stops, never gives up, and always tells us to fight until the end no matter what is going on."

After putting up a good showing in the first three games of the year, the defense struggled this past Saturday against Michigan State. For Walker and his defensive mates, it certainly wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"It was very frustrating, and as a defensive line, we feel like we have the talent to get to the quarterback, but we didn't do it. We know we have the speed, we know we have the talent, and it's disappointing now to see it happen.

"I think as a unit we need to just focus and relax, and I think sometimes we get too uptight. But in the end we are going to be fine. As long as we keep playing hard, we are going to do some good things."

For Walker and his defensive line counterparts, the focus now shifts to the Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday in Iowa City. For the Illini fans, they will continue to watch the development of this young player and hope that someday he can be another in a long line of great Illinois defensive lineman.