Georgia football: grading interior linemen in 2019 class

Travon Walker: Georgia’s largest athlete

Travon Walker is 6-5 and 287 lbs at the time of his signing. He also runs a 4.97 40-yard-dash, and last year he ran a 4.54 shuttle. At nearly 300 pounds. In high school he played interior, edge and middle linebacker. Is it any surprise why 247Sports Composite ranked him the no. 2 defensive tackle and the no. 22 player overall?

He doesn’t just play fast, he thinks fast. He immediately recognizes what direction the play is going and he bolts there. Against some opponents in high school, he looks like a monster with how big he is and how fast he moves. He’s one of those guys who opponents will fear having to face.

If he bulks up to 300 lbs quickly while keeping his athleticism, he’ll play a huge role this season. Coaches might have to create him one. With his size, it’s tempting to move him to nose guard. But his athleticism would lend itself better to defensive tackle, especially in a five-man front. He likely won’t play at inside linebacker, but who knows with our defense? No one is pigeon holed, and Georgia plays the best 11 for a given situation. That means Walker might play ILB every now and then, if the coaches feel he’ll succeed.

Most of his snaps will come as a defensive tackle in formations with four-man fronts, maybe even at defensive end in five-man lines. You look at his size, 6-5 and around 300 lbs, you want him to be the nose guard of the future. But then you watch his tapes and you realize how valuable he’ll be as a tackle or an end.

He’d give Georgia two huge bodies in the interior of the line to occupy blockers and weaken the best offensive lines. While also forward to get in the backfield and horizontally to run down screens and sweeps.