Always Thinking
10/26/2018 10:40:00 AM | Football, Student Athlete, Features
By Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
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Whether he's in the classroom or on the football field, Mark Walker is always thinking.
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"It really hit me this year that linebacker is like a four-credit class," he said. "Sometimes, it feels harder than some of the engineering courses I've taken. You're basically studying for a test all week, then you have an exam at the end of every week."
Â
Walker has succeeded on just about every exam he's taken, especially as his career has progressed. And whenever he's faced adversity, Walker has come out stronger on the other side.
Â
Flash back a few years. One of Walker's first "exams" was deciding what college to attend.
Â
"One of the major things I remember talking to Coach (Scott) Brisson about was the football culture," said Walker. "The culture around the football team at Lehigh was different than other schools. I wanted to go to a place where football was very important, and important to the community. I thought Lehigh was perfect for that, along with its academics."
Â
Walker wanted to take advantage of Lehigh's academic prestige. With that mindset, he was led to his eventual major.
Â
"When I got recruited, I was deciding between business and engineering," said Walker. "I thought I might as well take the challenge of engineering since Lehigh is such a great engineering school."
Â
During second semester freshman year, Walker decided on industrial engineering, which features a lot of business operations engineering. While Walker was finding himself in a "thinker's" curriculum, he was doing the same thing on the football field.
Â
"I came in very physical and aggressive, not truly understanding linebacker, and evolving into someone who can watch film and know exactly what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right," said Walker. "Before, I would be aggressive and get after the ball, but wouldn't be doing it the correct way."
Â
Actually recruited as a long snapper, Walker forced the hand of the coaching staff to play him at his original position, which he played in high school.
Â
"We've put him in a couple different roles," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "I'm really proud of him, stepping up as an outside linebacker, inside linebacker and middle linebacker. As a football player, he just flies around the field."
Â
Walker has developed into a mainstay of Lehigh's defense due in large part to the upperclassmen seeing potential in Mark at a young age and taking him under their wing.
Â
"The second I came in, older kids in my position group took notice of me, threw me compliments and threw hints to the coaches about how they thought about me as a player," said Walker. "That helped me gain confidence and I thought I really belong here. I knew it was time to take it to the next level. I started working on getting bigger, stronger and faster."
Â
Being big strong and fast only means so much if you're not in the correct position on the football field. That's where Walker's smarts came into play, and it's something that came naturally to him, having played middle linebacker since age seven.
Â
"You're learning every day. It's nonstop and you have a lot of information to take in," he said. "I've learned that linebacker is very cerebral – the whole thinking process, managing the defense and knowing your assignments and how they change.
Â
"At the same time, you may know your assignment, but you have to be physical enough to execute that assignment," Walker continued. "You may know what your leverage has to be in a gap, but if you're not physical enough to take your gap, then it's technically a missed assignment."
Â
Walker hasn't missed many assignments in any aspect of his life, last season finishing third on the Mountain Hawks in tackles while earning a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll on multiple occasions.
Â
Although there are some overlaps between engineering and football (such as thinking analytically), Coen also appreciates the way Walker can separate the two aspects of his life, not letting one area interfere with the other.
Â
"Mark as an engineering student has to be very disciplined in what he's doing, but when it's time for football, it's like a light switch turns on and he's a football player," said Coen. "He throws his body around all over the place and is not shy about anything."
Â
This summer, Walker wasn't shy off the field when he pursued (and accepted) an internship at Parts Life, Inc.
Â
"We worked mainly on reverse engineering component specific parts for the military," he said. "So if the military had an asset that had become obsolete or discontinued, we could make it for them. It was a lot of manufacturing, 3D modeling, database management and dealing with certain companies such as Lockheed Martin or the government directly on a weekly basis. Projects changed frequently, so I was always learning something new which made it a great experience."
Â
Walker thrives with details, something that is evident on the football field, and as an engineer.
Â
"Engineering does come down to details," he said. "If you're trying to create something, there can be no lagging parts. If you're designing something or even doing a math test with multiple equations, you have to keep note of what everything means and how certain things affect each other, just like football. It's like one big equation; everything has to be perfect to run a good defense."
Â
Linebackers coach Mike Kashurba recognizes that Walker is a key part of the Mountain Hawks' equation.
Â
"Mark has really developed in his recognition and reaction to what he's seeing and how to adjust because if it," said Kashurba. "His football IQ helps him anticipate what is coming based on that recognition and allows him to create an advantage by knowing where to go faster and how to get there most efficiently. His intelligence combined with his aggressive style and strength makes him a challenge to block and allows us to do what we do schematically. As smart as he is, he doesn't overanalyze which is pretty apparent when you see him playing as fast and physically as he does."
Â
Walker and the Mountain Hawks have shown strides on defense this season, beginning with the season opener when the Mountain Hawks allowed just 19 points in a win over Saint Francis (Pa.).
Â
Walker is in the middle of it all.
Â
"Coach Kashurba has been a great addition," said Walker. "He has implemented a lot of new schemes. He's taught the linebackers a lot about how to play the position and what goes into it. Everyone also has a lot more experience this year. We have more confidence and the talent is there. We have to continue piecing it together a little bit more. We're not at the final product yet."
Â
On a personal level, there's no doubt Walker is close to the final product of a Lehigh student-athlete who is ready to tackle the world.
Â
"Any way you look at my experience here, I'm a true believer that everything happens for a reason," said Walker. "It's how you respond. My experiences here at Lehigh have really narrowed my focus on what I find important in life and instead of chasing other things, just focusing on my goals and values.
Â
"I owe most of my success, the reason I work so hard in school and football, to my family. Making them proud is what makes me happiest because they sacrifice so much so I can be successful, and they give me endless support whenever I need it."
Â
Walker's parents, and the entire Lehigh football community, couldn't be more proud of Walker, who has taken every success in stride and taken every hardship as a learning experience to become a better student, athlete and man.
Â
Â
Whether he's in the classroom or on the football field, Mark Walker is always thinking.
Â
"It really hit me this year that linebacker is like a four-credit class," he said. "Sometimes, it feels harder than some of the engineering courses I've taken. You're basically studying for a test all week, then you have an exam at the end of every week."
Â
Walker has succeeded on just about every exam he's taken, especially as his career has progressed. And whenever he's faced adversity, Walker has come out stronger on the other side.
Â
Flash back a few years. One of Walker's first "exams" was deciding what college to attend.
Â
"One of the major things I remember talking to Coach (Scott) Brisson about was the football culture," said Walker. "The culture around the football team at Lehigh was different than other schools. I wanted to go to a place where football was very important, and important to the community. I thought Lehigh was perfect for that, along with its academics."
Â
Walker wanted to take advantage of Lehigh's academic prestige. With that mindset, he was led to his eventual major.
Â
"When I got recruited, I was deciding between business and engineering," said Walker. "I thought I might as well take the challenge of engineering since Lehigh is such a great engineering school."
Â
During second semester freshman year, Walker decided on industrial engineering, which features a lot of business operations engineering. While Walker was finding himself in a "thinker's" curriculum, he was doing the same thing on the football field.
Â
"I came in very physical and aggressive, not truly understanding linebacker, and evolving into someone who can watch film and know exactly what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right," said Walker. "Before, I would be aggressive and get after the ball, but wouldn't be doing it the correct way."
Â
Actually recruited as a long snapper, Walker forced the hand of the coaching staff to play him at his original position, which he played in high school.
Â
"We've put him in a couple different roles," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "I'm really proud of him, stepping up as an outside linebacker, inside linebacker and middle linebacker. As a football player, he just flies around the field."
Â
Walker has developed into a mainstay of Lehigh's defense due in large part to the upperclassmen seeing potential in Mark at a young age and taking him under their wing.
Â
"The second I came in, older kids in my position group took notice of me, threw me compliments and threw hints to the coaches about how they thought about me as a player," said Walker. "That helped me gain confidence and I thought I really belong here. I knew it was time to take it to the next level. I started working on getting bigger, stronger and faster."
Â
Being big strong and fast only means so much if you're not in the correct position on the football field. That's where Walker's smarts came into play, and it's something that came naturally to him, having played middle linebacker since age seven.
Â
"You're learning every day. It's nonstop and you have a lot of information to take in," he said. "I've learned that linebacker is very cerebral – the whole thinking process, managing the defense and knowing your assignments and how they change.
Â
"At the same time, you may know your assignment, but you have to be physical enough to execute that assignment," Walker continued. "You may know what your leverage has to be in a gap, but if you're not physical enough to take your gap, then it's technically a missed assignment."
Â
Walker hasn't missed many assignments in any aspect of his life, last season finishing third on the Mountain Hawks in tackles while earning a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll on multiple occasions.
Â
Although there are some overlaps between engineering and football (such as thinking analytically), Coen also appreciates the way Walker can separate the two aspects of his life, not letting one area interfere with the other.
Â
"Mark as an engineering student has to be very disciplined in what he's doing, but when it's time for football, it's like a light switch turns on and he's a football player," said Coen. "He throws his body around all over the place and is not shy about anything."
Â
This summer, Walker wasn't shy off the field when he pursued (and accepted) an internship at Parts Life, Inc.
Â
"We worked mainly on reverse engineering component specific parts for the military," he said. "So if the military had an asset that had become obsolete or discontinued, we could make it for them. It was a lot of manufacturing, 3D modeling, database management and dealing with certain companies such as Lockheed Martin or the government directly on a weekly basis. Projects changed frequently, so I was always learning something new which made it a great experience."
Â
Walker thrives with details, something that is evident on the football field, and as an engineer.
Â
"Engineering does come down to details," he said. "If you're trying to create something, there can be no lagging parts. If you're designing something or even doing a math test with multiple equations, you have to keep note of what everything means and how certain things affect each other, just like football. It's like one big equation; everything has to be perfect to run a good defense."
Â
Linebackers coach Mike Kashurba recognizes that Walker is a key part of the Mountain Hawks' equation.
Â
"Mark has really developed in his recognition and reaction to what he's seeing and how to adjust because if it," said Kashurba. "His football IQ helps him anticipate what is coming based on that recognition and allows him to create an advantage by knowing where to go faster and how to get there most efficiently. His intelligence combined with his aggressive style and strength makes him a challenge to block and allows us to do what we do schematically. As smart as he is, he doesn't overanalyze which is pretty apparent when you see him playing as fast and physically as he does."
Â
Walker and the Mountain Hawks have shown strides on defense this season, beginning with the season opener when the Mountain Hawks allowed just 19 points in a win over Saint Francis (Pa.).
Â
Walker is in the middle of it all.
Â
"Coach Kashurba has been a great addition," said Walker. "He has implemented a lot of new schemes. He's taught the linebackers a lot about how to play the position and what goes into it. Everyone also has a lot more experience this year. We have more confidence and the talent is there. We have to continue piecing it together a little bit more. We're not at the final product yet."
Â
On a personal level, there's no doubt Walker is close to the final product of a Lehigh student-athlete who is ready to tackle the world.
Â
"Any way you look at my experience here, I'm a true believer that everything happens for a reason," said Walker. "It's how you respond. My experiences here at Lehigh have really narrowed my focus on what I find important in life and instead of chasing other things, just focusing on my goals and values.
Â
"I owe most of my success, the reason I work so hard in school and football, to my family. Making them proud is what makes me happiest because they sacrifice so much so I can be successful, and they give me endless support whenever I need it."
Â
Walker's parents, and the entire Lehigh football community, couldn't be more proud of Walker, who has taken every success in stride and taken every hardship as a learning experience to become a better student, athlete and man.
Â
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