Steadily Improving, Walker Ready for Feature Role

Iron sharpens iron.

Penn State’s players and coaches use the phrase constantly, no more so than along the offensive and defensive lines as they frequently battle and, in turn, evolve in step with one another.

And so it goes for redshirt freshman Rasheed Walker as he continues his trajectory toward a starting job at left tackle for the 2019 season. Projecting to become an integral piece of the Nittany Lions’ offensive line, with some of the best defensive linemen in the Big Ten awaiting, it only helps to face the same level or better opponent on his own team.

“It feels really good because Yetur (Gross-Matos), he's obviously one of the best, if not the best, I'd say he's the best D-end in college football right now. So I know if I can block him, I can block anybody,” said Walker. “Just blocking (Gross-Matos and Jayson Oweh), it's been a challenge and a grind every day. We get each other better every day.”

As Walker has proven through the course of the spring, though, the challenge isn’t a one-sided affair.

For as much praise as Gross-Matos and Oweh have received from coaches and teammates, Walker himself has similarly earned the respect and praise of his very competitors.

“People don't talk about Rasheed athleticism, but Rasheed is as athletic as anything, probably as much as me and Micah. He's big, he can move, and if you think that you can beat him in a rush, no. He's going to be right there,” said Oweh. “He's really physical. He tries the ends, D-ends, D-tackles, he finishes his job. And he's really smart and he knows the playbook as well. So I look to him to have a really crazy year.”

The possibility is one that has been growing for Walker since his arrival at Penn State last summer.

Walker started the season behind Ryan Bates and Des Holmes on the Nittany Lions’ depth chart. Appearing for seven snaps in the team’s win against Kent State in the third week of the season, Walker wouldn’t return to see brief game action until the Rutgers and Maryland games to close out the regular season slate. Even so, Walker had by then risen to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart at left tackle.

So when Bates announced his intention to forgo a final season of eligibility in favor of an NFL future, Walker immediately readied himself to take over the starting role.

A role he might not have been ready for at the start of his first season on campus, in spite of head coach James Franklin’s assertion that he could have been used all year if necessary, Walker now believes himself capable.

“I feel like from week six on, I would have been really comfortable playing,” said Walker. “I just still had a lot of stuff to learn, technique-wise. When you're in high school, I'm obviously the biggest guy on the field, so it was just, I feel like college football is more of a technical game than a physical game. So I just feel like I needed to get my technique a little bit better for me to actually say I was ready to play in the Big Ten.

“And I can say, coming in from high school without having any college experience, I could say I had the mentality that I could play. But when I got there, I'm like, I can play, but I feel like I need a little bit more work to comfortably be on the field. But now I'm confident.”

Honing that technique has required an embrace of the necessity of repetition to continually grow and improve at the college level, Walker added.

In facing the best of what the Nittany Lions have to offer at defensive end, that process has only accelerated Walker’s preparedness for the season ahead.

“Getting a lot of reps against Yetur, obviously I could say from the beginning of spring ball to the end, I felt way more comfortable blocking someone like Yetur towards the end than at the beginning,” said Walker. “It's all about just trusting the process, getting a lot of reps and just staying focused.”

Attempting to fill the shoes of Bates, who finished the season with the second-most offensive reps to anyone on the Nittany Lions’ roster last season. Walker asserts that he’s now ready for the challenge.

“I feel like I'm much smarter in the passing game. My football IQ has gotten a lot better. I'm physically stronger and just a lot smarter,” said Walker. “I feel like I'm a better football player than when I first got here to now.”