LOUISVILLE, KY: The work week has now been infused with the energy from the Louisville football program’s intense transfer portal recruiting weekend.
Safety Wesley Walker, who played his final two seasons in college with Tennessee, said on Monday that he has committed to play for the Cardinals in his final season.
In the last four days, Walker has become Louisville’s eighth commitment to transfer. Peny Boone, the running back for Toledo, made the commitment on Friday. On Saturday, Tuskegee wide receiver Antonio Meeks, Texas A&M linebacker Jurriente Davis, Oklahoma safety Daeh McCullough, Georgia Southern offensive tackle Rasheed Miller, and Houston offensive tackle Reuben Unije all made commitments.
The 6-foot-1, 204-pound free safety had an incredibly productive 2023 season with the Volunteers. Starting the first 10 games of the regular season before missing the final two due to injury, Walker finished fourth on the team in tackles with 53 (33 solo), while also logging 3.5 for loss, a sack, two pass breakup and a forced fumble.
The Lewisburg, Tenn. native was a key reserve during his first season in Knoxville, playing all 13 games with a pair of starts in 2022. That year, he was fifth on the team in tackles for loss with 5.5, and also collected 36 tackles (23 solo), a sack, an interception and four pass breakups.
Walker played his first three years of college ball for Georgia Tech, an ACC team, and for his final two seasons in Atlanta, he was a consistent member of their secondary. He recorded 95 tackles (56 solo), 2.0 for loss, six pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in 22 games with 13 starts as a Yellow Jacket.
Even with Josh Minkins Jr. going to the portal and Cam’Ron Kelly to the NFL, Louisville will have a number of alternatives at safety going into 2024. They return starting Devin Neal, add Blake Ruffin of Eastern Illinois and Daeh McCullough of Oklahoma through the portal, and are expected to get starter M.J. Gryphon back after his injury in the 2023 preseason. As the 2023 season progressed, D’Angelo Hutchinson also showed growth, while Benjamin Perry remained a strong candidate for STAR.
