Anthony Walker Jr. – December 16, 2024
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Monday, December 16, 2024
LB Anthony Walker Jr.
(Word on the street is your new nickname is Santa Walker. I don’t know how you got those jerseys, but I graduated high school 32 years ago. You could hook me up?) – “I got you. (laughter) No, obviously wasn’t even expecting all that – the reaction from the guys. I actually planned to do this when the first initial 53-man roster was set and then things happened where guys get cut, traded, everything like that. So kept adding guys and stuff like that. It just happened to come around where we finally got a set group and it was around Christmas time and wanted to get the guys something special. I give all the credit to my guy at All Stars Miami, though, Anthony Castro. He did everything, all the groundwork. I got him the roster and he said ‘I’ve got the rest of it.’ Obviously paid a big steep price for it but was able to take care of it for me and happy the guys enjoyed it.”
(How does he go about getting them? Is it he recreates them or is doing the legwork and getting the jersey from each school?) – “No, I think he just kind of looked at pictures once he looked at the guys because Raheem (Mostert) had No. 31 in his only picture on the internet from high school, No. 31. He actually wore No. 2 his senior year, but we didn’t know that. So kind of just went off the pictures that we found and he did his thing.”
(Did you expect the reaction that you got?) – “Not at all. I was literally like, ‘man, here you guys go.’ I’ve been kind of wearing it throughout the season, guys that I looked up to growing up so I was wearing it every home game and then when the guys saw it, like Jonnu (Smith) literally acting like a little kid. (laughter) Just so happy. Again, I didn’t expect the reaction obviously on social media but definitely not from the guys in the locker room and just realized how important that was to them.”
(What is it about high school that makes it so special because I know you talked about wearing the jerseys every game and then did you ever get the jerseys for your team at Pace?) – “My high school team? Yeah, I had to get them real jerseys to play in. (laughter)”
(What is it about high school that makes it resonate so much with everybody?) – “Yeah, I think that’s that first step when you realize like, ‘I’ve got to really commit to this process. I’ve got to really do the extra work.’ Obviously you play Little League and all that stuff and that’s just really fun, but one of my favorite movies ‘Remember The Titans,’ he’s like, ‘you think football is still fun?’ (laughter) You’ve got that balance of fun and then it’s not fun anymore; you’ve really got to grind to get that scholarship to really take that next step in your career. So that’s kind of like that groundwork that’s been laid. I think a lot of guys kind of said that. Like, ‘man, I remember those times where I wanted to get to this point.’ So looking back, seeing all the work that we all put in to get here and be here – even you guys, I know you guys, we all went through high school – and again, that’s that groundwork that we laid to be where we’re at now and in the space that we live in in the NFL world. So I think that’s again, just that remembrance of all the hard work that we put in and one thing I’ll say, like when I started to look at the jerseys was, ‘man, like it’s one from every high school,’ right? Like high school it’s 40-50 guys on the team and it’s one guy – sometimes you get more – but most times it’s one guy, you’re the only guy on your high school team that’s still playing football at this time. So just very special and unique to have that moment where you just realize, man, I’m really blessed being able to continue playing this game at the professional level and represent my high school team, my teammates, my family. All that stuff. So yeah, just kind of brought it all back together.”
(You mentioned that groundwork. Is that sort of like an underlying foundation for you guys now going forward considering the playoff hopes are slim at this point but you’ve still got to go out there and be professional and as you said, you’ve worked your whole life for these moments to play in the NFL?) – “Yeah, man, the standard is still the standard. You can never take that for granted. Like I said, we’re very blessed to play this game and any time you go out there and you think anything less is when it ends for you, and you don’t want that. We play this game and we play it and it’s a kid’s game, right? They say it, but we get paid to do this and you’re held to a standard and as long as you have the opportunity to play this game, you’ve got to uphold that standard and I know I have no doubt in my mind that every guy on this team is going to do that.”
(And when football is no longer fun, you see one of your teammates laid out like you see WR Grant DuBose laid out yesterday, just talk about that aspect of it. The emotions of the guys when they saw one of their brothers down.) – “Like I said, any time you see even an opponent go down, opposing team player or your team; it stops for a second and you realize, ‘man, this could happen at any moment.’ Where someone could not be playing football again and sometimes even worse. You never want to think about that, but again, it makes you cherish the game that much more, realizing at any moment this game could be taken away at any moment, whether I’m hurt or anything like that. I could just not be out here anymore, so while I am out here, I want to give it my all and play for the guy next to me and keep making my family proud, hometown proud, however you play the game. But again, it just could be taken away at any moment and for him, obviously I’m just happy that he is doing a lot better, but that’s a scary moment. As any teammate will tell you, you never want to see that because again, like shoot, sometimes like ‘am I going to be in my right mind to continue to play this game?’ So like I said, happy for him and his progress and we’re still praying for him and we’ll be ready to see him when he gets back.”
(Is it a relief, if that’s the right word, every time you hear an encouraging report like they put out today? Like you just never know what could happen overnight. This morning you hear things are going good. How much does that kind of take a deep breath?) – “No doubt. Any time like you said, overnight you’re not getting any answers. You’re just waiting to see and find out and to get positive news is always great. Obviously we know he’ll have a recovery process to go through, but again, it could be a lot worse and never want to say that but it is true. It can, and we don’t want to get to that point, but we saw last year Damar Hamlin, again just situations – I think the kid at Alabama A&M this year. You just never want to get to that point where – like I said, it’s a little kid game, but at the end of the day it’s serious. It’s life or death sometimes.”
(Switching gears a little bit, obviously Teddy Bridgewater, you looked up to him. He won the state championship this weekend. What was your reaction – first-year head coach winning it all?) – “I told him – I texted him right after – I was like, ‘you’ve always been the standard.’ Down here just the hard work that he’s always put in, he’s always been the leader, captain of his football teams growing up, someone my dad would always point out and be like, ‘man, that’s a guy you should follow.’ Just again, just watching him play, grow – when he played at Miami Northwestern, when he played at Louisville and played in the NFL – I had no doubt that he’d go win and obviously he was scared to play against Monsignor Pace this year, (laughter) but I knew he’d go and do good things at that program. He has a lot of pride for the city, for that school and yeah, he led those guys and I expect nothing less from him.”
(Did you see the video of him celebrating?) – “Of course. Yeah, he’s crazy. (laughter) That’s the side – I’ve known Teddy for a while and I know that side of him, so I wasn’t surprised at all. But yeah, he enjoys it. I think one thing about him though, he’s hard on the kids, but he also celebrates with the kids. He makes it fun for the kids as well, so I think that’s a positive about him. Just him setting the standard for that team but also understanding it’s a little kid game. I can have fun with the guys and then you’ve got to celebrate the wins.”
(I wanted to ask you about that – I hate using the term “soft” when it talks about any football player, but you’re coaching kids coming up. There’s a lot of flash out there but not a lot of substance when it comes to these kids. In the NFL how do you find leaders? Are there still leaders? Are there still guys that’ll chew guys out? That’ll still point things out? Not point fingers but calling guys out? How tough is that in the NFL nowadays?) – “I think it’s different on every time. I always say that, but I think it’s the confidence in yourself honestly and then that teammate has to be able to trust you. You can’t just be doing everything wrong and then trying to chew out another teammate. That’s never going to happen. So any time when you yourself, you uphold the standard that is set for the team; yeah, now I have the right to correct someone when they’re doing wrong or again, like you said, no pointing the finger, but we’re all remembering the goal that’s at hand and if that goal and that standard isn’t being met, I have to hold you to that. So again, just that relationship you have with your teammate, again, that’s what it’s about – relationships and the trust in that teammate and he knows it’s not coming from a place of ill-will but more so from a place of love and wanting nothing but the best for you as well.”
(Has it gotten tougher? Like your generation…?) – “I don’t think my generation. I think a little younger maybe, but my generation, I think we’re still solid. I’ve always had a good group of friends outside of football and within football that kind of help hold me to a standard and when you have that group that one being Jacoby Brissett who calls me after every game and tells me if I did right or wrong. (laughter) Just a guy like that though, we hold each other to that standard where it’s like some things aren’t going to be tolerated and we know if you’re doing right or you’re doing wrong.”
