[LeeCoUKFan]

Walker disappointed with season opener, still solid to UK

Justin Rowland
CatsIllustrated.com Football Recruiting Analyst

The season didn't get off to the kind of start Kobie Walker was hoping for and it went down in front of a nationally televised audience.

ESPN televised Olney (Md.) Good Counsel's season opener against Baltimore (Md.) Gilman, a game that turned out to be a 20-14 loss for Walker's squad.

Early in the game it appeared as though Good Counsel would cruise.

"In the beginning we were doing great," Walker told Cats Illustrated. "It was 14-0 in the first quarter. Five minutes into the game our starting running back had like 78 yards and then he got hurt. He banged up his knee and messed the whole rest of the game. That hurt our momentum. It had us down. A lot of people had their head down. After that we didn't score at all."

Of course Walker didn't have anything to do with the offensive woes but he believes he could have played better.

"I feel like I could have done a lot better honestly. Around the middle of the first quarter is when I really got warmed up so it took too long. I feel like I did make a lot of plays that helped the team out. I saved a lot of touchdowns. I'm not too down on myself. I'm just trying to get ready for next week," he said.

Walker played linebacker for most of the game but did log a couple of plays at safety in the fourth quarter. He currently checks in at 6-foot-4 and 210-pounds, and he's hoping to add ten pounds of muscle mass between now and the time when he enrolls at Kentucky.

Noted for his long frame and ability to play sideline to sideline, many believe Walker has a lot of potential once he fills out.

"I'm athletic enough to play safety but I definitely like being in the box," he said. "I feel like my coverage has gotten a lot better. There were a couple of times when the quarterback rolled out and he hesitated because I was in the slot and we'd get a sack. I'll be in the flats and he noticed I was there and would throw somewhere else. I didn't get any balls caught on me in my zone."

Walker said he's not sure when he will visit Kentucky but most of UK's current commits will take their official visit after the season the weekend of December 14.

Since his commitment most other schools have backed off Walker but Boston College, Rutgers and Miami still maintain minimal contact. It's just usually not even acknowledged.

"I'm not even interested so I don't even respond," he said.

http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1541241