Irmo (SC) Dutch Fork defensive end Julian Walker committed to Michigan on Tuesday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Auburn, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and South Carolina, among others.
Walker is listed at 6'6" and 252 pounds. As a junior in 2024, he made 44 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 81 grade, #23 DE, #235 overall
On3: 4-star, 91 grade, #20 edge, #136 overall
Rivals: 3-star, 5.7 grade, #48 edge
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 grade, #16 edge, #155 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Walker is the son of former University of Wisconsin running back Jamil Walker, who ran 44 times for 198 yards and 1 touchdown in the mid-2000s. The elder Walker would go on to work in the strength program for Wisconsin, Georgia, Arkansas, and currently South Carolina. So a lot of people thought Julian would head to South Carolina, too, but the nomadic nature of coaching in college football means Julian is used to moving around and Jamil will probably be working somewhere else by the time Julian finishes his college career. Michigan offered Julian back in February of this year, and he took an official visit during Victors Weekend a couple weeks ago.
Recruiting sites list Walker anywhere from 6'5", 230 lbs. to 6'6", 252 lbs., but he looks bigger than 230 on his junior film so that might be an old measurement (it is from ESPN, so . . . ). Unlike Carter Meadows's wispy 6'6", 225 lb. frame, Walker is already filled out pretty well and looks like a future NFL strongside defensive end. He has long arms and is able to lock out and shed offensive linemen. Even when still engaged with offensive linemen, he shows the ability to find the ball, use quick feet to redirect, and use his wingspan to envelop ball carriers. He shows adequate closing speed to chase down quarterbacks, but he's going to be more of a bull rusher at the next level.
On the negative side, I don't love his four-point stance and get-off. It takes him a hair too long at times to recognize the ball being snapped, and his explosion out of his stance needs work. I think a good defensive line coach like Lou Esposito can work on those things (and probably get him in a three-point stance, if not in a stand-up position), but it's something to watch. Perhaps because of that slow get-off, there are times where Walker gets reached or just ends up stalemated and then uses his superior athleticism and length to find the ball.
Overall, Walker has a lot of things you want in a strongside end. He could potentially kick inside, especially on passing downs, to provide more of a pass rush package. The weaknesses are really on the technical side, and when there's another 4-star dude waiting in the wings to take your playing time, that's a great motivator to refine your technique. Walker has the look of someone like Mike Morris, who took a few years to develop but then played a stand-up defensive end spot and made 7.5 sacks in 2022 before going in the 6th round of the 2023 NFL Draft. I think Walker has a little more athleticism, though.
MIchigan now has 19 commitments in the 2026 class, including five defensive linemen: Walker, McHale Blade, Tariq Boney, Titan Davis, and Carter Meadows. Dutch Fork is a very talent-laden high school, having produced current Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass, current New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, PGA golfer Dustin Johnson, and several other high-profile athletes. Walker would be the first Michigan player to come from Dutch Fork.
TTB Rating: 82
I would not had noticed it unless you pointed it out, but you're right: there's a noticeable lag between others moving and Walker getting started. I wonder if he was prone to offsides earlier, and the coaches told him to wait half-a-tick, knowing he could make it up at the HS level?
ReplyDeleteWhat training techniques are there to anticipate and shorten this time? Just drills, or are there electronic machines to help with reaction time improvement?
Sometimes it's just eye discipline. Sometimes it's technique; if you're in the wrong stance, you might literally take longer to trigger out of your stance. Sometimes it's fatigue if a guy is playing both ways, but I don't think Walker plays offense (there are no highlights of him playing TE or anything). Sometimes it's just learning that if you don't get out of your stance quicker, the 6'6", 315 lb. dude across from you is going to plant you in the ground.
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