Commitment Breakdown: Deone Walker picks Kentucky

The recruitment of Detroit Cass Tech four-star Deone Walker reached a crescendo in the weeks leading up to the Early Signing Period. Rising from a regional prospect to a nationally-recruited prospect in the last ten months, Walker methodically executed his recruiting game plan and reached his decision in time to sign in the early period. Kentucky was in early for Walker, and rallied late to secure the lineman’s signature.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The recruiting process started slow for Walker and was delayed by the COVID-19 shutdown in the spring of 2020. He collected a couple offers in the summer before his junior season, but it was not until last spring that his recruitment truly went national. Walker paced his recruitment perfectly to take full advantage of the late attention. He was never in a rush to move toward a decision and was ready to see schools when the NCAA finally ended its 15-month dead period on June 1.

Michigan was the first Power 5 offer for Walker. Cass Tech has long been a pipeline program for the Wolverines, and that undoubtedly helped Jim Harbaugh’s staff identify Walker early. Kentucky also made its presence felt early in this recruitment. The Wildcats have had success in recent years recruiting southeast Michigan, and were able to secure Walker’s final official visit the weekend before National Signing Day.

Walker took his official visit to Michigan a couple days before leaving for Kentucky, and also made official visits with SEC programs Georgia and Missouri in the fall. Coming down the stretch this felt like a Michigan-Kentucky battle, and Kentucky was able to get the job done in the end.

SCOUTING REPORT

When I first scouted Deone Walker in-person, I was surprised to learn he was already over 300 pounds. That was when he was still a sophomore, and he wore the weight well on his frame. Walker has continued to grow and now measures 6-foot-7 and over 350 pounds, but he still wears that weight well and moves really well for his size. As a defensive lineman, Walker couples that size with excellent athleticism, but I am not convinced he stays on the defensive line in college.

Former Cass Tech linemen Joseph Barksdale and William Campbell were also defensive prospects coming out of high school, but both ended up on the offensive line in college and in the NFL. I see a similar path for Walker. He is most comfortable on the defensive line right now, but his size and skill set put his highest potential at offensive tackle and I fully expect him to move to that side of the football not long after arriving in Lexington. We did not get a chance to evaluate Walker playing offensive line, but he certainly has the raw potential to play on Sundays at that position.