Crisp County native Quay Walker declares for 2022 NFL Draft

ATHENS, Ga. (WALB) - Quay Walker has declared for the 2022 NFL Draft, he announced on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.

The Crisp County native chose to take his talents to the Univeristy of Georgia four years ago. He may have sported his best season his senior year.

So it’s no surprise the Bulldog is aiming for the NFL.

In a tweet Tuesday, Walker said, “Since I was a kid it has always been my dream to play in the NFL.” Later in the tweet, he mentioned he could not be more excited to begin his preparations for the 2022 NFL Draft.

WALB’s Paige Dauer spoke with his high school football coach, Shelton Felton on Walker’s announcement.

“It’s just great to see what a young man can do when you dream and work hard at your dream,” said Felton.

Felton was the head football coach at Crisp County in 2015 and 2016 and played a key role in Quay Walker’s journey back to the gridiron.

Felton added, “I had gotten the job at Crisp County as head coach and I was walking by and I saw this big guy in the gym caught an alley and dunked it and the kids were going crazy in P.E.. And I walked up in the middle of the court and I stopped the game and I said, ‘Com here, who are you?’”

The future star played football at a young age, later pursuing his passion for basketball.

But after one quick interaction... Felton knew Walker belonged on the field.

“And I just went to work from there convincing him and mom to play football,” said Felton. “I’ll never forget he said, ‘I’m a hooper.’ I said, ‘You might be a hooper but you’re a football player by body.”’”

Walker spent four seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs, posting several career highs this past season.

like a team-high eight tackles in CFP Championship Game vs. Alabama.

As Walker gets one step closer to achieving his childhood dreams of playing in the league... Felton says it brings endless joy to his heart.

“Being a great player in high school, being an Under Armor All-American, everybody wants to be that. Going to your home state and start, he’s done that. Going to your home state and winning a National Championship for the first time in 41 years, and being a big part of that, it gets no better than that,” said Felton.

Felton added, “That just shows you there’s talent everywhere but there’s also talent in South Georgia and those kids are hard nose and love football.”

The former Crisp County Cougar started at linebacker in all 15 games in 2021.

He finished with 67 total stops, tied for third-best on the team, along with 5.5 Tackles for Loss, 1.5 QB Sacks, 25 QB pressures, and three pass breakups.

Walker had a team-high eight tackles in CFP Championship Game vs. Alabama, also had career-high six QB pressures vs. the Crimson Tide.

He led the team and set career highs in tackles in two mid-season games.

Career High Stats

13 Tackles vs. Florida, 2021

2 Tackles for Loss vs. Auburn, 2021

1 QB Sack vs. four teams

6 QB Pressures vs. Alabama, 2021

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