Walker to take on new role for Central Florida
By Brandon Helwig, Central Florida Future
August 18, 2004
(U-WIRE) OVIEDO, Fla. -- Mike Walker tried out something new during Thursday's practice -- defense. The sophomore worked out with Central Florida's defensive backs and got a little bit of action playing cornerback.
Walker signed with UCF last year as a wide receiver, turning down offers from the likes of Miami, Ole Miss and Tennessee, and appeared in all of the Knights' 12 games as a true freshman. He caught 21 passes for 337 yards on the year, including a four-catch, 104-yard performance in the second game of 2003 against Florida Atlantic.
But Thursday's transition to defense wasn't totally foreign territory for Walker, who is listed in the media guide as 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, because he did play some cornerback in high school. In fact, many of the colleges recruiting Walker out of Edgewater were initially talking to him about playing safety, not wide receiver, at the collegiate level.
"I was just out there running with the ones and twos, just rotating in every three [plays]," Walker said after practice. "I'm just trying to get a feel for it right now. ... I played left corner [in high school]. My footwork isn't what it should be, but I'm catching on. I'll get there."
UCF's depth at receiver is one of the reasons for the move, according to coach George O'Leary, but he wants Walker to stay involved with the offense too.
"I just wanted to see him there [at cornerback] and see if he can help us because he's a good athlete," O'Leary said. "We have some talent at receiver and it's not an end in itself. It's a move I want to look at and make a decision on in a couple days if he can help us, but I still want to keep him involved in the offense somewhat. Then when Saturday hits if I feel if he's going to be someone who can help us over there, then we'll have to arrange practice as far as how he can get some offensive reps and still know what he's doing on defense and help us there."
"I think he's a great athlete, and right now I want to make sure we have some corners who can cover and do some things that we need to get done," O'Leary said. "He was the one kid on the other side of the ball I thought we could take over and get some work done with him. We still have plenty of time. He knows the offense, and it's pretty much what we've been doing in working through the summer and they've had skellie [skeleton drill that sharpens defense and communication] by themselves. I think he's fine and it's something he wants to do. Again, we'll take a look at him and see if he can help us. If he can, then we'll make contingency plans for the hurricane and for Mike Walker."
Walker said he was first told of the potential switch during a discussion with coach O'Leary prior to the start of camp.
"Before the week we had [off], I talked to O'Leary and he just whispered it to me and told me not to tell anyone," Walker said. "He just told me to think about it and I thought about it. Whatever to help the team out, I'll do it."
That's exactly the kind of attitude O'Leary likes in a player.
"That's what you want," O'Leary said. "You want kids like that who just want to play and aren't worried about where they play. Obviously I think he's one of the better receivers, but he's also a guy who was highly recruited as a defensive back by colleges and it's obvious when you watch his skills he can help us, and if he can help us then we'll make some type of plan. I really haven't sat down with him yet, but maybe he could be a third-down guy for us because he has all the intangibles you need to have as far as receiver is concerned also."
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