The Prairie Grove football staff places such high value on Cole Walker that the 5-feet-10, 210-pound senior has been issued two different jerseys.
Walker will wear both Nos. 42 and 54, depending on where his skill set is needed during a game. Offensively, Walker is expected to line up at both fullback and as a lineman, necessitating the issuance of two different jersey numbers. When he is in the backfield Walker will don No. 42 and switch to No. 54 when inserted as a lineman serving to maximize Walker's opportunities to make plays and contribute to the team. Between his junior and senior seasons, Walker dropped 20 pounds and with increased speed has expanded his value. Head coach Danny Abshier and his staff noticed and plan to implement Walker's flexibility into their game plan.
"He dropped a bunch of weight, like 20 pounds, over the winter. He wanted to get faster. He made a lot of big plays on defense last year from the nose guard spot," said Prairie Grove defensive coordinator Craig Laird.
Prairie Grove has switched defenses this season, shifting from their traditional three-man front to a four man defensive line. Walker will play an inside tackle position as Prairie Grove utilizes the abilities of their defensive front.
"We have six really strong, really good defensive linemen," Laird said. "That's one of the reasons why we changed our defense this year and went to a four-man front because of our personnel."
On offense, Walker will split time at fullback with Reed Orr (5-9, 195 pounds), who Laird describes as "speedy, strong and quick." Walker has developed his leg strength and squats 390 pounds. He is president of the Prairie Grove chapter of the Fellowship of Christian athletes and hosts small group studies at his house.
"He plays two different positions on offense. He has to wear two different numbers," Laird said. "He worked real hard in the off-season to lose weight and increase his speed. We've got two good guys at fullback."
"He [Walker] is what you want your son to be," Laird said.
The Prairie Grove coaches are also what parents want from a high school coaching staff. The high value they place on their players is evident by the adaptations Prairie Grove has made to benefit their players' individual capabilities. On the opposite side of the coin are high school football programs which have done things backwards and the end result showed up on the playing field. One team had Robert, a 6-4, 240 pound senior, whom starting center Paul, 5-9, 185 pounds, 300-pound bench press, remarked, "That guy could plug a hole." Al was a 6-4, 190 pound junior, who would place second in state wrestling as a heavyweight. Another 6-2 senior wasn't that big weighing 165 pounds but couldn't play offense because the head coach issued jersey No. 99, illegal for offensive linemen. He finally had to humble himself and ask to play JV because that was the only way to get into a game.
With Al and Robert in front, the 6-2, 165 middle linebacker could roam the field virtually unblocked and in practice the starting JV defense consistently stuffed the starting varsity offense. The problem was undersized offensive linemen, whom also started on defense. The rationale for this seemed inexplicable for a team with 35 players total available from the senior, junior and sophomore classes to fill out a varsity roster. There were a number of capable players on that team not getting opportunities to play on varsity, who didn't feel valued by the coaching staff.
Abshier and his assistants: Laird, John Elder, Mason Pinkley and Nik Paroubek, don't have that problem at Prairie Grove. They consistently discover and put their best players on the field: a fundamental key to success which Tiger fans celebrate. It's not that Prairie Grove has never played an undersized defensive end, they have. Abshier and Laird recalled Brandon Taylor's ability to make plays at the position during the 2012 playoff run to the state semifinals.
"We got away with it, too, until we got to Stuttgart," Laird grinned.
Laird, who is in charge of the defense, credits Abshier with a lot of the success Prairie Grove has experienced in recent years.
"Our defensive linemen are always good," Laird said. "Coach Abshier is too good at coaching defensive ends. He gets the most out of what we've got."
MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISE-LEADER.
Sports on 08/26/2015