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| About Sean / Sean Info / Wednesday, 03 March 2010 12:29 |
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UGA Photo Slideshow 2006 Coutu’s kick saves Dogs 2007 Photo by: AP SEC’s Best Receivers 6. Vanderbilt - Junior Earl Bennett is set for another All-SEC season after catching 82 passes for 1,146 yards, best in the SEC. He’s just 39 receptions away from being the school’s all-time leading receiver, and could set some SEC records, too. George Smith is Vandy’s upset of Georgia between the hedges last fall was also an exclamation point for Sean Walker (6-0, 180). The junior hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass and snared a 6-yarder on fourth down during Vandy’s game-winning field-goal drive. For the season, Walker accumulated 16 receptions for 204 yards. ”Sean Walker is a very strong receiver, he had a big touchdown catch against us last year.” HOLES TO FILL: After finishing 15th in the country a year ago in total defense, that’s where the Commodores have been hit the hardest by losses. Linebackers Jonathan Goff and Marcus Buggs are gone. … Earl Bennett will be incredibly difficult to replace at receiver, but Sean Walker and Justin Wheeler have shown flashes of talent. POSITION BATTLES: Mackenzi Adams started the second half of the season, taking over for Chris Nickson. Both are back. Has any one of them made leaps toward seizing the job? … There’ll be a fight for Bennett’s spot. Walker appears to have a leg up to become Vandy’s new No. 1 receiver.
http://host1.bondware.com/~citypaper/news.php?viewStory=52831 Vanderbilt renews Walker’s passion for footballBy Brett Hait, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it In February, Vanderbilt wide receivers coach Charlie Fisher decided it was time to have a tough-love chat with Sean Walker. As the two men sat in Fisher’s office at the McGugin Center, the message was received loud and clear. He understood that it was time for him to step up or get passed up, Fisher said. Thus began Walker’s journey from an unknown wide receiver to one who caught two crucial passes last Saturday during Vanderbilt’s stunning 24-22 upset victory at Georgia. A year ago, as a redshirt freshman, Walker did not catch a pass and played mostly on special teams. His father, John Walker, died of a heart attack in May. In June, Sean Walker underwent knee surgery. It all happened at the same time, he said. I really didn’t even care anymore. I still loved the football, but the passion just wasn’t there. No one noticed more than Fisher, who was tantalized by Walker’s pure speed but was baffled by his inconsistency. He was just such an inconsistent practice guy, Fisher said. �Good one day but not very good the next. It was time for him to turn the corner. I didn’t think he was playing up to his potential in his first two years.The 6-0, 185-pound Walker worked through his personal difficulties, rehabilitated the bad knee and re-dedicated himself to football. He produced an outstanding spring and continued to improve over the summer. Entering the 2006 season, Vanderbilt’s receiving corps was generally regarded as the team’s deepest and most talented area. Earl Bennett, Marlon White and George Smith figured to catch most of the passes. Walker’s name was rarely, if ever, mentioned. He has become a regular in the receiving rotation this fall and has nine catches and two touchdowns. Against Georgia, he hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass. During the game’s final drive, he grabbed six-yard catch on a fourth-and-5 play and held on despite being leveled by Bulldogs defensive back Tra Battle. I knew there was a lot of competition out here, Walker said. If I didn’t play my game and step up, someone else was going to step up for me. I decided in my head that I needed to be the guy to step up and help the team win. I always felt I could do it, but now I have the heart for it, the mindset and the will to do it. I always knew I had the talent. I knew I had to be patient. Everybody’s time is going to come. I knew my opportunities were going to come, and when they came I had to take advantage of them. Walker’s heroics at Georgia came before many family and friends who made the trip to Athens, Ga., from his hometown of Wrens, Ga. How much better could it have gotten for a Georgia guy than to make two of the biggest plays of the game? Fisher said. It couldn’t have happened to a better kid who has worked hard. He’s tried to improve his game and has worked at it. He’s been a great example for younger players for the kind of work you’ve got to put in to succeed at this level. It’s a good lesson for coaches, too, that you have to be patient with your players, work them hard and hang in there with him. Sometimes it doesn’t happen all at once.
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