Georgia’s D’Andre Walker ‘turned a corner’ during spring practice

It won’t be easy replacing outside linebackers Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins, especially considering both players should be on a professional roster by the end of the first two days of the NFL draft. 

Georgia knows Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter are the next in line to step up as starting outside linebackers. But much like Bellamy and Carter were a season ago, the Bulldogs need others to step up and fill rotational and specialty roles at the position.

One player who stood out in Saturday’s G-Day spring game was D’Andre Walker, who totaled four sacks. Sure, the sack number came while only tagging off on the opposing quarterback, but Walker did display a good burst off the snap, which is something Bellamy said he has seen throughout the spring. 

“He’s finally getting comfortable,” Bellamy said. “Last year, not knowing the playbook kind of slowed him down a little bit. I think, with our depth at outside linebacker, he realized it would be tough to get on the field. Now he knows what we need. We need that extra pass rusher. He’s gotten more comfortable with college football and the speed of it. He’s a natural pass rusher. I’m just proud of him.”

Walker was on the Black team, which meant he was with the second-team defense. He went primarily against left tackle Kendall Baker and got the best of him on a few occasions. 

Head coach Kirby Smart was pleased with what he saw out of Walker, especially since Baker began the spring running with the first-team offensive line. 

“D’Andre has done a really good job of becoming better as a player,” Smart said. “He’s working really hard. He’s learning. (Outside linebackers) coach (Kevin) Sherrer has done a great job with him. D’Andre has improved. I’m very pleased with D’Andre’s work ethic.”

Walker played mostly on special teams as a freshman in 2015 but did rotate in at outside linebacker sometimes. He finished his first season with 9 total tackles and half of a sack in 13 games. 

Bellamy said Walker has started taking the next step after learning the college game during his first season. 

“The only thing that was hurting Dre was himself last year — when it came down to learning the plays or whatever,” Bellamy said. “But you can always tell he had that natural pass rush thing about him. What we saw out here, with the four sacks, he’s been doing that all spring. I definitely feel like he has turned a corner as a football player and I’m so proud of him.”

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Georgia’s D’Andre Walker ‘turned a corner’ during spring practice."