Maturity yields opportunity for rookie defensive back

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This article was published 15/08/2017 (2968 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall summed up perfectly the fallout following the surprise release of veteran defensive back Bruce Johnson.

“What’s one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity,” Hall said following practice earlier this week when asked about Johnson, who appeared in 47 games for the Bombers since 2014 before his sudden release Friday.

As for the opportunity that’s come from Johnson’s misfortune, it appears to belong to rookie Brian Walker. While Johnson was out the first six games with a broken hand, it was Walker who rose to take his spot.

Walker has started the last four games, the last two lining up in Johnson’s old spot at field-side halfback. He’s appeared in six games for Winnipeg, registering 22 defensive tackles and two on special teams. He also has an interception, which came against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the day after Johnson’s release.

“I’m definitely getting more comfortable,” Walker said. “The game is slowing down for me… a lot. But for me and what I want to accomplish for my team and for my defence, I have a long way to go.”

Soft-spoken and polite, it’s hard to tell at first glance that Walker is just 21 years of age. He’s among the youngest players in the CFL, yet his maturity is closer to that of a seasoned veteran than a rookie.

Recognized first at one of the Bombers’ spring free-agent camps down south, Walker, who spent the 2016 season at Division II Fayetteville State after transferring from North Carolina, was invited to Winnipeg’s mini-camp in April. A solid performance there led to an invite to rookie camp and then to main training camp, where he was able to earn a spot in a crowded Bombers secondary.

Since then, Walker has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches for his violent hits on the field and attention to detail in the meeting room.

“Being only 21… playing in college and then playing pro are two different things,” said Bombers all-star safety Taylor Loffler, who — at 25 — used to be the team’s resident young gun before the arrival of Walker. “He’s a real mature guy who has taken his role seriously and he’s been great at it.”

“He’s playing at a high level and in order to do that you have to know what you’re doing out there,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “Along with that maturity, what’s interesting is that he communicates better than what you’d think for a young rookie. He’s a good kid and a nice guy.”

But as nice a guy as Walker is, he shows few courtesies when on the field. Perhaps even more impressive than his age is his ability to deliver crushing hits on opposing players, most of whom are years older and much heavier.

Asked if he’s ever felt his age in his first season of professional football, Walker was quick to point out his frame, listed generously at five-foot-nine and 195 pounds.

“I try to be in the training room as much as I can and I feel like that really helps me out,” he said. “But when I’m in the locker room and I’m on the field, no, I don’t feel 21 at all. I feel like I’ve been there before.”

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Walker added: “I don’t know if it’s just the way I feel for the game or just being out there with my teammates — I feel comfortable with the people I’m playing with.”

Though happy with what Walker has been able to achieve in his short time with the team, O’Shea said the decision to cut ties with Johnson was far from seamless.

“It’s the least enjoyable part of the job. It always will be,” he said, before shifting focus to the locker room, where many players understood but still seemed displeased by the decision. “I wouldn’t expect them all to understand it. I’d expect guys in the locker room to be missing a buddy who was a lot of fun to have in the locker room and who played a lot of snaps with these guys.

“I don’t really expect them to understand it right away,” the coach added. “They probably shouldn’t (because) they’re not worried about setting up rosters and looking at the future and doing all those things that the business side and the coaching staff has to do.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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