University of Tennessee Athletics
Four Downs: Chris Walker
September 22, 2009 | Football
Sept. 22, 2009
BY JOSH PATE
UTSports.com
Three games into the season and it's hard not to stare at Chris Walker's statistics. The tackles column is the focus.
Walker has 14 total tackles this year - one less than he had all of last season and four shy of his career total enter the season. He's got a team-high 4.5 tackles for loss this year. He credits the vast improvement to a fresh start with a new coaching staff, something that has created a new mentality for the junior defensive end.
The results have shown on the field. Walker came into the season with one personal goal in mind: win the starting job. Now, despite the 1-2 record early on, Walker is singing a new tune of optimism.
First Down: Do re mi ... If it gets quiet in Neyland Stadium and a strong, deep voice bellows out in tune, look Walker's way. The 6-foot-3, 232-pounder has always been a singer inside. He credits the talent to his mother, who raised him and had the biggest influence on his character development.
"My mom, she used to sing a lot when we were little," Walker said. "My brother and sister and I, we can all sing. So I just took that and ran with it. It's something I just kept with me."
But don't confuse him for the next Swiperboy, a.k.a. men's basketball player Renaldo Woolridge who has laid down several tracks.
"I'm not in the studios," Walker laughed. "I might show up when some of my guys do music, so I might show up on their tracks."
Second Down: Growing up ... Walker has always had orange as part of his wardrobe. He's from Memphis, so it's natural for him to be exposed to Tennessee's colors from birth. But his orange wasn't Tennessee's.
"No. I grew up a Miami fan," Walker said. "With everything I had in me, I wanted to go to Miami. Tennessee started recruiting me. I had never been to a game until my junior year."
He was sold. So now when he goes back to Memphis, he gets some ribbing from his hometown folks, albeit good natured.
"It's fun going home just to see my high school team play, just to see all the people that I went to high school with if they're home," Walker said. "Going back and reminiscing about the days when you used to be in high school and having fun with the people at home."
Third Down: Speaking to the fans ... Walker, like many of the Vols, doesn't have a specific pregame ritual. It's probably best that way, because his staple motivation is the same for UT fans across the state.
The Vol Walk gives fans a chance to see the players face-to-face, and vice-versa. For Walker, it's the best tradition Tennessee has on gameday.
"The Vol Walk is something that gets me hyped," Walker said. "Just to see the amount of people that come out to the Vol Walk. They don't have to be there, but sometimes its thousands of people just to see us walk down the street. That shows what kind of fan base we have here."
Fourth Down: And the award goes to ... When Walker does get to go back to Memphis again, he'll have some clout to carry with him. This has been a benchmark season for him, starting in the spring. Walker's renewed work ethic earned him the Andy Spiva Award as the team's most improved player during spring practice.
"I set my standard to be the best player coming out of the spring and that's what I did. I wanted to prove myself to this new staff," Walker said. "Just getting that award was something that was really important to me, and something that I really worked hard for."
Walker gives credit to the new staff, but he said he was focused on the improvement despite the change in regime.
"No matter what was going on, I wanted to come out and be a starter my junior year," Walker said. "With this coaching staff changing over, that was something that was big - they said nobody has a position. That was something that I took to heart and took to really working hard for because I knew that if I played my game I would be the starter."
