University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Jalon Walker
April 01, 2024 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Jalon Walker hopes to have a long, successful professional football career once his days with the Georgia Bulldogs are done. As for what he does after that, the rising junior outside linebacker, who led the Bulldogs last season with five sacks and 26 quarterback pressures, has some ideas.
One of those ideas, orthodontics, he's had bouncing around his head for years, and has even done an internship toward. The other idea, voiceover work, is newer and a bit less straightforward, the result of doing the narration for an SEC video last year.
During a recent Quick Chat, Walker talked about his play last season, thinking about life after football, whether the huge fan of fashion is already planning his outfits for next season's Dawg Walks, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What did you do really well last season? Is there one part of your game that made a big leap?
Walker: Just the season in total, there are so many bright points for me. Also, there's the realization that the best is yet to come. Just always being able to forward to the future and look forward to perfecting my craft, and being a better player.
Frierson: You had a team-high five sacks, but you also have about five times as many pressures. Can it get frustrating when you're so close to all of those sacks but can't quite get there in time?
Walker: You should never be satisfied, and there's always room for improvement. It was a great opportunity for me to lead the team in sacks, but I felt there were a lot of opportunities for me that I wasn't able to capitalize on, where those pressures could have been sacks or those hurries could have been sacks. It's just not finishing on a play sometimes — things like that motivate me to do better next season.
Frierson: What is something you've never done on a football field that you've always wanted to?
Walker: Probably playing a game at running back. I feel like I can maneuver through the line and make something shake, just because I what's coming from the defense.
Frierson: You never got a chance to do any of that in high school?
Walker: I played tight end, and I played a little bit of running back when it was necessary, but I had a lot of guys on my team that were able to do that (play running back), so I didn't have to do as much. I played tight end and wide receiver, and I remember one point in the season when I was 5-for-5 for four touchdowns, so I feel like I was pretty special with the rock in my hands.
Frierson: I don't doubt it. The last time we did one of these, you talked about your interest in fashion and enthusiasm for getting dressed up for the Dawg Walks. Have you already mapped out what you're going to wear next season?
Walker: I feel like it's too far in advance right now, but I do have some visions. My goal is to wear purple one time during the season. That's my favorite color.
Frierson: Do you have to factor in that week's opponent and what their colors are? You don't want to be looking like you're wearing the other team's colors, I wouldn't think.
Walker: I don't think so. What it comes to is, whatever I feel like. Sometimes I might just wear a regular suit, but purple is the color I want to go for one time next season.
Frierson: What is your favorite purple thing that you own?
Walker: That's the thing, I don't have one. Probably whatever I do for this next suit will be my favorite purple thing that I own.
Frierson: How much do you think now about life after your playing days? Do you already have some plans or goals for life after football?
Walker: I think about it a lot, because you never know when that last snap of football is going to be for you. Having a plan to capitalize on is something I've always had, learning from different individuals and my family members, who told me to do so.
I've always wanted to be an orthodontist. I grew up with a lot of classmates whose parents were orthodontists or dentists, so going back home, I did an internship at an orthodontist's office, which was one of my friends from school's father. I got to learn a lot to see if I wanted to hop into the field or not.
Being here at the University of Georgia, I've had the opportunity to become the voiceover for the SEC, for the SEC football commercials, so doing voiceover and doing media, that's piquing my interests, as well. I'm still not totally sure what I want to do, but I've got a couple of fields that I know I want to hop into.
Frierson: What part of doing the voiceover work surprised you? On the one hand it's just talking, but on the other, it's not just talking.
Walker: It was crazy to me to see how long it took. We did a lot of takes, and I didn't really realize how much work goes into this job. More power to all of the people who do it as a job all day. I did it for an hour and I was exhausted.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Jalon Walker hopes to have a long, successful professional football career once his days with the Georgia Bulldogs are done. As for what he does after that, the rising junior outside linebacker, who led the Bulldogs last season with five sacks and 26 quarterback pressures, has some ideas.
One of those ideas, orthodontics, he's had bouncing around his head for years, and has even done an internship toward. The other idea, voiceover work, is newer and a bit less straightforward, the result of doing the narration for an SEC video last year.
During a recent Quick Chat, Walker talked about his play last season, thinking about life after football, whether the huge fan of fashion is already planning his outfits for next season's Dawg Walks, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What did you do really well last season? Is there one part of your game that made a big leap?
Walker: Just the season in total, there are so many bright points for me. Also, there's the realization that the best is yet to come. Just always being able to forward to the future and look forward to perfecting my craft, and being a better player.
Frierson: You had a team-high five sacks, but you also have about five times as many pressures. Can it get frustrating when you're so close to all of those sacks but can't quite get there in time?
Walker: You should never be satisfied, and there's always room for improvement. It was a great opportunity for me to lead the team in sacks, but I felt there were a lot of opportunities for me that I wasn't able to capitalize on, where those pressures could have been sacks or those hurries could have been sacks. It's just not finishing on a play sometimes — things like that motivate me to do better next season.
Frierson: What is something you've never done on a football field that you've always wanted to?
Walker: Probably playing a game at running back. I feel like I can maneuver through the line and make something shake, just because I what's coming from the defense.
Frierson: You never got a chance to do any of that in high school?
Walker: I played tight end, and I played a little bit of running back when it was necessary, but I had a lot of guys on my team that were able to do that (play running back), so I didn't have to do as much. I played tight end and wide receiver, and I remember one point in the season when I was 5-for-5 for four touchdowns, so I feel like I was pretty special with the rock in my hands.
Frierson: I don't doubt it. The last time we did one of these, you talked about your interest in fashion and enthusiasm for getting dressed up for the Dawg Walks. Have you already mapped out what you're going to wear next season?
Walker: I feel like it's too far in advance right now, but I do have some visions. My goal is to wear purple one time during the season. That's my favorite color.
Frierson: Do you have to factor in that week's opponent and what their colors are? You don't want to be looking like you're wearing the other team's colors, I wouldn't think.
Walker: I don't think so. What it comes to is, whatever I feel like. Sometimes I might just wear a regular suit, but purple is the color I want to go for one time next season.
Frierson: What is your favorite purple thing that you own?
Walker: That's the thing, I don't have one. Probably whatever I do for this next suit will be my favorite purple thing that I own.
Frierson: How much do you think now about life after your playing days? Do you already have some plans or goals for life after football?
Walker: I think about it a lot, because you never know when that last snap of football is going to be for you. Having a plan to capitalize on is something I've always had, learning from different individuals and my family members, who told me to do so.
I've always wanted to be an orthodontist. I grew up with a lot of classmates whose parents were orthodontists or dentists, so going back home, I did an internship at an orthodontist's office, which was one of my friends from school's father. I got to learn a lot to see if I wanted to hop into the field or not.
Being here at the University of Georgia, I've had the opportunity to become the voiceover for the SEC, for the SEC football commercials, so doing voiceover and doing media, that's piquing my interests, as well. I'm still not totally sure what I want to do, but I've got a couple of fields that I know I want to hop into.
Frierson: What part of doing the voiceover work surprised you? On the one hand it's just talking, but on the other, it's not just talking.
Walker: It was crazy to me to see how long it took. We did a lot of takes, and I didn't really realize how much work goes into this job. More power to all of the people who do it as a job all day. I did it for an hour and I was exhausted.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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