ESPN unveiled its 2024 preseason college football All-America team Wednesday. Kentucky’s Deone Walker made the list as one of four defensive tackles named.
Walker was a First Team selection at defensive tackle, as was Michigan’s Mason Graham. Clemson’s Peter Woods and Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams were named Second Team All-Americans by ESPN.
ESPN’s Chris Low writes of Walker.
“The 6-6, 348-pound Walker is a Big Blue mountain in the middle of Kentucky’s defensive line. He was a first-team All-SEC selection a year ago as a sophomore and will be among the most coveted interior defensive linemen in the 2025 NFL draft. Despite battling constant double-teams, Walker led the Wildcats with 12.5 tackles for loss, including 7.5 sacks. For a man his size, he’s a remarkable athlete and ran the 100 meters in high school.”
Walker and cornerback Maxwell Hairston made the preseason Bednarik Award watch list earlier this week.Walker was also named to the Bronko Nagurski watch list and the Outland Trophy watch list.
The Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the best defensive player in college football while the Outland Trophy is awarded to the nation’s best interior lineman, be it offense or defense.
Earlier this summer, Walker was also named a preseason Second Team All-American by Walter Camp.