Tigers pick up LB commitment out of Charlotte

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jul 14 16:25:03 GMT-04:00 2010

CLEMSON - Colton Walls went to the beach last week, and the more he thought about his college choices, the more he realized that Clemson was the right place for him.

Walls is a 6-2, 230-pound linebacker for Charlotte (NC) Latin, and he said that Duke had been pressuring him to go ahead and commit, telling him that he needed to make his decision before they ran out of spots. He said he was also drawing interest from North Carolina, Memphis and Vanderbilt.

“I was at the beach for an entire week, and I went down there thinking ‘do I want to commit, and if I do, where do I want to go,’ “Walls told TigerNet Wednesday afternoon. “Duke wanted me to commit, and they were telling me I needed to commit before there were no spots left. But all along, I was thinking that Clemson is where I wanted to be, so I thought I would just commit right now and save myself some trouble.”

Walls said he worked with defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Kevin Steele at a camp, and he said that the things he learned from Steele in a short amount of time also helped sway his decision. His father is also former NFL tight end Wesley Walls, who worked with Steele when both were with the Carolina Panthers.

“I love all of the coaches and the philosophy they have at Clemson,” he said. “I worked with Coach Steele at the camp I went to, and he taught me a lot in a short amount of time. I have a lot of confidence in him. Also, the decision-maker in my house is my mom, and she loves Coach Swinney because he is a Christian guy. I love the campus down there. It’s a nice campus, and I love the lake. It just feels like a place I should call home.”

Walls has championship experience, leading his team to a championship last season by recording 115 tackles, seven sacks, two blocked punts and an interception.

He said he called Swinney first, and then his recruiter of record, Danny Pearman.

“I talked to Coach Swinney first, and he said I was happy because I was the first linebacker to commit for the 2011 class,” Walls said. “Then he said that because I was the first one, he would be more than happy to accept my commitment. “

Walls said that making his decision now means he won’t take a scheduled trip to Ole Miss this weekend, as he had planned, and can instead concentrate on workouts with Charlotte Latin.

“Now I don’t have to worry about my high school team and missing time in the weight room,” he said. “I was going to Ole Miss, but I’m not going there anymore. I am just going to stay with my team, and we have workouts every day of the week, so I’ll be busy.”

His father was a solid NFL player, playing 14 years in the league with the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers. He caught 450 passes for 5,291 yards and 54 touchdowns, and the younger Walls said his dad was excited about the prospect of watching his son play at Clemson.

“He was excited when I told him the news,” he said. “He said he works with a guy that knows a lot about Clemson, and that he is going to come to all of my games and watch me play.”

See a video of Colton Walls from ESPN here


2011 Football Commitments


Shaq Anthony        OL   6-5  260 Piedmont, SC (Wren HS)


Isaiah Battle	    OL	 6-7  260 St George, Virginia (Blue Ridge HS)


Mike Bellamy	    RB	 5-10 180 Punta Gorda, FL (Charlotte HS)


Cortez Davis        DB   6-3  200 Daytona Beach, FL (Mainland HS)


Joe Gore            DE   6-6  262 Lake Waccamaw, NC (East Columbus HS)


Adam Humphries      WR   5-11 176 Roebuck, SC (Dorman HS)


Grady Jarrett	    DL	 6-1  280 Conyers, GA (Rockdale County HS)


Marlin Lane         RB   6-1  190 Daytona Beach, FL (Mainland HS)


Eric MacLain        TE   6-5  245 Fayetteville, NC Jack (Britt HS)


Jerome Maybank      DT   6-4  310 Pawley's Island (Waccamaw HS)


Tony McNeal         QB   6-1  180 Chester, SC (Chester, HS)


Ryan Norton         OL   6-4  275 Mauldin, SC (Mauldin HS)


Charone Peake       WR   6-3  200 Spartanburg, SC (Dorman HS)


Robert Smith        ATH  6-0  180 Ft Dorchester, SC (Woodland HS)


Colton Walls        LB   6-2  230 Charlotte, NC (Latin HS)


DeShaun Williams    DT   6-0  280 Central, SC (Daniel HS)