Yury Travon Walker (; born December 18, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, winning the 2022 National Championship with them prior to being selected first overall by the Jaguars in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Early life and college

Walker was born on December 18, 2000, in

Thomaston, Georgia Thomaston is a city in and the county seat of Upson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,170 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Thomaston, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is includ ...

, and attended

Upson-Lee High School Upson-Lee High School is a secondary school in Thomaston, Georgia, United States. It is the only high school in Upson County. It is a combination of the former R. E. Lee Institute and Upson High School, both previously located in Upson County. ...

. He was selected to the 2019

All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985. In 1986, the National Football Foundatio ...

. He committed to play

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. Walker played in 12 games and had 15 tackles and 2.5 sacks as a freshman for the Bulldogs in 2019. As a sophomore in 2020, he played in nine games with 13 tackles, one sack and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. Walker started at defensive tackle as a junior and was a part of the team that won the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship. He declared for the

following the season.

College statistics

Professional career

Walker was selected first overall by the

in the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $37.4 million fully guaranteed, on May 12, 2022. In his debut, Walker recorded a sack and interception in a 28-22 loss against the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

. In his rookie season, he started in 14 of the 15 games he appeared in. He finished with 3.5 sacks, 49 total tackles, one interception, two passes defensed, and one forced fumble.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

* *
Jacksonville Jaguars bioGeorgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Travon Living people Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends American football outside linebackers Georgia Bulldogs football players People from Thomaston, Georgia 2000 births Jacksonville Jaguars players African-American players of American football