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| Derek Walker had his first quarterback sack of the season in the opening game against Eastern Illinois. |
Derek Walker (who leads the Fighting Illini with four-and-a-half sacks on the season) and his fellow defensive linemen made things tough for Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton in Illinois' thrilling 23-20 victory Saturday at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
Here is a transcript of Wednesday afternoon's chat.
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| Moderator: Welcome, everyone. Derek is here and ready to go! |
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| Mark (Casper, WY): Hello to the new Master of Sack,
Great job up in E. Lansing. Describe for us what you consider to be your favorite kind of sack? Is it from the blindside, a pancake in the face, or chasing the QB in the backfield minus twenty? Hopefully they all end in fumble recoveries in the plus side for the Illini with no penalties! Please, please take Indiana seriously all 60 minutes, and don't let up. Also, for my father who died in 9-11, after your next sack, please give him a salute to the sky for me. He took me to my 1st Illini game ... Illini 30 - Missouri 20 many years ago. Thanks in advance! Go Illini!! |
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Derek Walker: What's up, everyone?
Thanks for your support, Mark. My favorite type of sack is the blindside, becuase he doesn't see it coming, and it tends to be a bigger hit.
We are taking Indiana very seriously, as we do all opponents. Hopefully we can get some more sacks to add to our total. |
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| Patrick Dixon-Arlington Heights, IL: Derek,
This is kind of personal, but in terms of trash talking. Do you ever say anything to the QB after you've sacked him? If so, what do you say? |
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Derek Walker: I don't really say anything to the quarterback. I just let the play speak for itself. |
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| Doug Brotherton (Mt. Pleasant, MI): First off, thank you for making my life more enjoyable. It is usually lonely in Michigan as an Illinois football fan. My question to you is; What was the scene like in the locker room following the win?
Thanks for an undefeated season against Michigan football teams and keep it up!!! |
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Derek Walker: It was really energetic...it's hard to explain. It was overwhelming, and there was a sense of relief. It was a great win, but you have to put both wins and losses behind you after they happen, because we need to focus on our next game if we are to successful. |
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| Brit Miller from Decatur Illinois: Derek, I am a huge fan of yours. I love the entisity you bring to the field every week but I really need to know what you think about the rest of your defensive linemen comrades? (Cno, buck, and Pilch) |
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Derek Walker: Hey, Brit.
My teammates on the defensive line are really vocal, and I really feed off of them. They are all great players, and we really feed off each other. |
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| Kyle, Edwardsville: Derek, obviously the defense has shown a lot of improvement....can you put your finger on one thing that you guys are doing differently that has led to the improvement (especially the front 7)? |
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Derek Walker: One of the biggest areas of improvement over last year is our ability to get pressure on the quarterback. We're playing with more intensity and more excitement than we did last year. We're more comfortable with the system this year. And when you're more comfortable, you don't have to think as much...you just play. |
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| St. Louis: Hey Walker how do you feel about the young D-Ends behind you? |
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Derek Walker: I feel that they are very athletic. They work hard every day in practice, and are getting better all the time. I think our defensive line will continue to improve as they get to play more. |
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| Chongo: Derek I love you and want to be with you...Call me. |
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Derek Walker: Hey, Lindquist...I love you, too. I'll call you after practice. |
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| Patrick Dixon-Arlington Heights, IL: Derek,
Congrats on the big win this past weekend! You guys played awesome!
My question is, do you have a pre-game ritual? If so, what do you do or eat? |
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Derek Walker: Thanks for your question, Patrick. Some guys have pre-game rituals, but I don't. If something bad were to happen, I wouldn't want to think it was because I didn't carry out the ritual just right. |
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| Ryan (Winnebago): What is the team attitude like now after a big win on the road in the Big Ten? Are you guys more confident after getting that monkey off of your back? |
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Derek Walker: The team attitude overall is very high, coming off a good win like the one at Michigan State. We're excited about the upcoming game. We'd like to get a winning streak going, and we'd like to give our alumni a good show on Homecoming. We want to show them that we're not the same team we were the last couple of years. Any time you win, you gain confidence. We keep working hard, we keep believing. We got a glimpse of winning last Saturday, and we want more. So we'll keep on working hard to make that happen. |
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| Gurnee: what is the felling that goes through you when you get a sack. |
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Derek Walker: When I got my first one, it was exciting, since it was the first game, and I only had one all year last year. Once you get one, you want to get more. Sacks are what defensive ends are judged on. So hopefully there will be many more to come. |
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| Moderator: OK, thanks Derek, and thanks to all of you who submitted questions. Don't forget, we'll have another chat right here next Wednesday with one of Derek's teammates. Go, Illini! |
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