Offensive lineman Carson Walker signed his letter of intent for the UH football team on Dec. 16, 2020. | File photo
When Midlothian Heritage product Carson Walker committed to Houston last summer, he was the program’s fifth commitment in the class of 2021.
The three-star offensive lineman had an impressive collection of offers from colleges across the country including Boise State, Memphis, Kansas and Tulsa.
Ultimately, Walker decided to remain true to his home state and chose to become a UH Cougar, announcing his decision on Twitter in July 2020.
Walker’s arrival on campus is one the program hopes is a sigh of relief for a team that struggled stopping the pass rush last season. In total, the UH football team gave up 27 sacks in only eight games.
Now, Walker will have the opportunity to develop his game into a pillar of the Cougars’ offense for the next few years.
The 283-pound, 6-foot-5-inch lineman was the 58th ranked offensive guard in the state of Texas and has the size to play right away. The likelihood of that happening will be determined by a coaching staff that managed to shuffle through a total of 13 different blockers upfront throughout last season.
Walker has the attributes and physical maturity to contribute early on in his collegiate career, but he is still a young player who will need time to fully adjust to a higher level of competition.
On the field, Walker has strengths that are rare for young lineman to already possess coming out of high school. The areas for improvement in his game often standout, but if he is able to develop in an appropriate amount of time, Walker could play his way into a starting role sooner rather than later.
Here is the Cub Report on Caron Walker:
Smart hands
Walker has fast, punchy hands that seem to always find their way to a defender. His hand placement occurs at the moment of contact, usually enabling him to maintain control throughout the entirety of his block.
At the high school level, Walker’s arm strength was capable of easily throwing defenders off their path to the ball. While this may be more difficult for Walker to do in college, the intelligence in which he uses his upper body will allow him to gain position on defenders and alter their range of motion.
Lateral movement
Walker has mature feet for a player of his age and does a solid job pulling when tasked with doing so.
He has good vision and never goes too long without finding the next defender in or out of his line of sight, and has the footwork to reach them quickly.
Walker is able to maintain patience in pass-blocking situations and hardly allows his defender to swindle him into making an unnecessary step.
Strong motor
What Walker does best is play through the sound of the whistle. He has the aggression necessary to play at the next level and doesn’t consider his defender to be out of the play until he is on the ground.
Walker is often the first lineman off of the ball and gets to his assignment quickly.
Room for improvement
When plays go on longer than normal, Walker has the tendency to lose a small amount of the skilled technique he plays with.
He sometimes finds himself off balance, or overly determined with dominating his defender and forgetting about the route of the ball carrier.
On his junior year film against larger defenders, Walker had an inclination to stand straight up when the ball was snapped and rely solely on his hand-to-hand combat proficiencies. This improved during his senior season.
Overall
If Walker can build upon his impressive high school career and work out the kinks in his game, he can one day play a role in UH’s return to dominance in the American Athletic Conference.
Furthermore, if the Cougars’ coaching staff gives him the opportunity to compete at multiple positions, Walker has the versatility to play on both sides of the center, something he showcased several times throughout his senior year.
