On a crucial drive with the Bengals aiming to get back in the ball game, sophomore linebacker Tre Walker and the rest of the Vandal defense needed to force a stop.
Before the third down snap, Walker stood patiently as he read the offense.
Before the play is even snapped, the six-foot-one 235-pound linebacker has already processed where he needed to be to come up big for the Vandals.
As the Bengals snapped the football, the quarterback tossed the ball to his running back on his right side. Before the Idaho State running back found any room to work with, Walker sped in and ferociously knocked the running back down for a loss of yards.
The Kibbie Dome roars, as Walker celebrated the third down stop with the rest of his Vandal teammates.
It’s the raw emotion and energy that Walker brought time and time again this season that has helped propel him to be one of the top stars on the defensive side of the football.
Idaho inside linebackers coach Adam Breske said that raw emotion is something that first caught his eye when meeting Walker.
“His fire, passion and love to play football when he is on the field really stood out,” Breske said. “He’s a mild manner guy when talking to him, but when he is on the field, he runs with his hair on fire and that is what you love about him.”
Idaho Head Coach Paul Petrino said having another year under him to learn the system has helped Walker improve drastically during his second year.
“He just has a great passion for the game and plays at 100 miles per hour all the time,” Petrino said. “He’s probably been one of the most consistent players on our team by far.”
Walker leads the team in tackles this season as one of the more reliable Vandal defenders on the team. The motor and drive Walker has brought to the team this season has been contagious, with the Vandal defense looking fired up every week to lead this team.
“Guys have really stepped up around him,” Breske said. “He’s been a bell cow in there and really hasn’t had to move at all positionally, but it’s the people around him and we’ve been able to put some different groups around him to help him excel.”
Walker said leading the group of guys around him is one of the key aspects of his game he focuses on the most.
“I take a lot of pride in my leadership,” Walker said. “I try to keep everybody in tune to what’s going on and keep them motivated, upbeat and ready to go out there and play.”
As one of the young leaders for the Vandals, Walker has embraced every minute of it.
“It’s been great stepping into that spotlight of the leadership role,” Walker said. “Coming from last year and not playing to this year and being a leader it was a fun transition.”
Petrino said he believes it is Walker’s knowledge for the game of football that goes unnoticed.
“He has a really good football IQ and really understands the game,” Petrino said. “He understands what’s going on and has really good instincts. I think the combination of his talent, instincts and then his passion gives him a chance to be really special.”
Petrino said Walker is one of the team leaders for the Vandals.
“No question, he is definitely one of our leaders,” Petrino said. “He’s definitely one of the top leaders on the team and I think people feed off of him, feed off of his passion and his big hits. Hopefully we get to see more of that this season.”
With four games remaining this season, Tre Walker has proven to be one of the next great Vandal leaders at linebacker.
Chris Deremercan be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @chris_DEREMER