Walker emerging playmaker
Speedy WR gives Midshipmen valuable offensive weapon
Mark Walker lined up in the slot Sept. 19 and matched-up against Tulane speedy safety Larry Brooks.
Brooks ran stride-for-stride with Walker as the latter headed for the post on a seam route. But when Walker looked back and saw the ball in the air, he suddenly kicked in the afterburners and immediately gained the separation he needed and made a spectacular diving catch, coming down just shy of the goal line to set up Navy’s first touchdown.
That impressive 44-yard reception sparked a remarkable rally that saw the Midshipmen erase a 24-0 halftime deficit in an eventual 27-24 win that was the greatest comeback in program history. Walker, along with quarterback Dalen Morris, was one of the heroes that day, as the sophomore sensation also had a 34-yard return on special teams that showcased his speed and set up the tying touchdown.
Speaking to the media a few days later, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo praised Walker and said “we need playmakers like that.”
“We haven’t had too many people who can
outrun Tulane to the edge. … Being able to have a guy that can blow the top off [the defense] on routes and get past people is definitely huge,” Niumatalolo said. “[Walker] is a special, special football player who brings an extra element to the passing and punt return game. We don’t get too many guys like him at the Naval Academy.”
Playing football at the Naval Academy wasn’t always in the cards for Walker. The Paterson, New Jersey, native always considered himself a basketball player and attended Saint Anthony’s Prep specifically for that sport.
“Basketball was always No. 1 and I didn’t want to give that up,” he said.
Saint Anthony’s closed following Walker’s junior year, so he transferred to Saint Peter’s Prep as a senior. It was there coach Rich Hansen sawhis football potential.
“I told Mark I thought he had a chance to become a special football player. Up until that point, I think he played football just to kill time before basketball season,” Hansen said. “Mark is just so darn athletic and has great competitive drive. He embraced the football grind, got better and better with every week and really blossomed into a tremendous receiver.”
Walker did not receive any Division I scholarship offers coming out of high school, so he enrolled at East Coast Prep in Barrington, Mass. He played football there andwas able to put together a high light tape based off games against the likes of the Army prep school and junior varsity teams.
Navy learned about Walker through its recruitment of Saint Peter’s Prep quarterback Massai Maynor. Both Hansen and Maynor urged the Navy coaching staff to also pursue Walker, who was still seeking a collegiate destination in January 2019.
“Without Massai, I don’t think I’d be here,” said Walker, adding he knew nothing about the service academies until Maynor committed to Navy.
Navy wide receivers coach Mick Yokitis said the staff likes having former basketball players at the position. Yokitis who was a basketball player himself before becoming a wideout for the Midshipmen and believes that background helped him succeed.
“I feel like the skills in basketball directly relate to wide receiver. To be able to high point a ball, to be able to leap and track a ball — it’s the same in both sports. To be able to use body position when battling for the ball is just like boxing out for a rebound,” Yokitis said.
Walker spent his plebe year learning how to play wide receiver at Navy, which employs a triple-option offense. The 6foot-2, 203-pounder got into six games and gained 13 yards off a reverse against Houston. Yokitis was blunt in his assessment of Walker’s play last season saying, “we didn’t feel good about his ability to execute the whole game plan.”
Walker, who freely admits “I didn’t know what I was doing” as a freshman, devoted the offseason to learning the playbook better. He didn’t need to do much blocking at the high school level and quickly discovered that was vitally important at Navy.
“It was definitely a big adjustment coming in because I wasn’t that big and I didn’t really have that inme,” Walker said of blocking. “Learning from coach [Yokitis] all the techniques, I realized size doesn’t matter. If you do it the rightway, you can get the job done.”
Yokitis praises Walker for working extremely hard to understand the offense and his role in it. However, the blocking ability is still a work in progress, the 10th-year assistant said.
“He’s been phenomenal catching the ball,” Yokitis said, “but he’s got a longway to go as far as blocking for the triple-option stuff. … Mark’s got a different skill set. The good Lord blessed him with some speed and natural ability some of our other guys don’t have.”
Navy no longer tests its players in the 40-yard dash, preferring instead to rely on the Catapult sports performance analytics. That system measures speed, quickness and explosion using GPS technology, and Walker routinely rates highly.
“Mark is one of the faster guys on the team, I can tell you that. We don’t have to use the Catapult to know he can run,” Yokitis said. “If you can run right past a Tulane defensive back, which he did in the game, you can really roll.”
Tyree Barnes, a 2009 graduate who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds during a tryout for the New England Patriots, is probably the fastest wide receiver of the triple-option era.
Yokitis ranks Walker in the top category, which would also include 2010 graduate Greg Jones.
Not only does Walker have the speed to get open, he also possesses the body control to adjust to balls inthe air along with superb hands. While the catch of the deep ball against Tulane was impressive, Yokitis thought an 18-yard grab along the sideline earlier in the gamewas even better.
That pass was thrown behind Walker, who had run a down-and-in andwas forced to quickly change direction and outstretch his arms to stab a bullet from Morris.
“That one on the sideline was an unbelievable catch. That ball was coming with some velocity,” Yokitis said. “Thatwas a big-time catch that showed the kid has great ball skills.”