“I’ve been like this since I was a little kid,” Walker said. “Obviously I’m ADD and I’m a hyperactive individual.”

“I’ve been called the ‘JUICE Guy’ everywhere I’ve been,” related Walker. JUICE is an acronym in football circles as the player that has ‘jacked up insanely contagious energy’.”

The loss of Jay Hill and Jernaro Gilford to Michigan certainly shook up the defensive staff. Kelly Poppinga took over as defensive coordinator and the new secondary coaches are Walker with the cornerbacks and Demario Warren with the safeties.

One might see a touch of gray in Walker’s hair, otherwise one might get fooled that he’s an actual player with his high-octane persona combined with his general fitness. It’s not hard to see where Walker’s energy and enthusiasm would be contagious. And for the record he’s 36 years old.

Most recently Walker was the defensive coordinator at Monmouth, an FCS level football program located in New Jersey. He was set to coach at North Dakota State before BYU head coach Kalani Sitake lured him to Provo.

“It’s how this profession goes,” Walker said about coming to BYU.

Walker does have Utah roots and was a high school star at Judge Memorial High School in Salt Lake City. Walker played at the University of Hawaii from 2008-2010 before returning back to the Beehive State to compete at Utah. He was a defensive back and kick returner at both schools and in the past has been a special teams coordinator so it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Walker’s expertise used by Sitake there as well. During his time at Utah, Sitake was the defensive coordinator.

Walker had high praises for the Cougar head coach, especially in regards to the BYU Media Day golf tournament held this past Thursday at the Timpanogos Golf Club, which has now become a staple of the program.

“I think (the tournament) builds a bridge (with the media) on a basis where we’re not on the football field,” said Walker. “It just shows who Kalani is. He’s so welcoming, so loving. In the program that he’s building, you’re going to be welcomed forever.”

Walker indeed enjoyed the golf event and “talking some trash.”

As a coach, there are some non-negotiable elements that Walker expects out of his cornerbacks.

“Number one is confidence. That alludes to just how you carry yourself, how you believe in yourself,” related Walker, who said it takes a special breed of player to man the cornerback position. “In the cornerback position, you’re going to be on an island at times. You have to have a ‘dog mentality’. When I say that I mean you just have to be competitive.”

Walker’s other necessary attributes are consistency, work ethic and being coachable. He wants the players under his direction to be competitive and say “this is my spot”, still realizing that they are teammates that can still be friends.

One player Walker feels he resonated with is junior Tre Alexander, who Walker praised as having that dog mentality he’s looking for under his stewardship.

“He is a passionate guy and that’s something that we fed off each other very, very early (in spring practice),” said Walker. “There are moments where I tell him ‘be yourself out there. Go make a play and I’m going to be the first one there to celebrate with you and if things aren’t going well I’m going to be the first one to throw my arm around you to let you know, you’re still that guy.'”

There is no doubt that the quality and depth that BYU has built in its secondary helped feed the last two years of success, both generally and the Cougars having one of the top defenses in the country. With Walker and Warren, Sitake brought in two knowledgeable staffers with experience as head coaches and coordinators. And with players like Alexander, Evan Johnson, Faletau Satuala and Raider Damuni returning with plenty of experience, along with some new faces making their mark, BYU’s secondary should be a source of strength for the Cougars in the 2026 gridiron wars.