Jalon Walker was a standout linebacker/edge rusher for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he displayed his versatility and athleticism in the SEC and on the biggest stages. Walker won the 2024 Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in his final season in college and will look to display his talent at the NFL level through the 2025 Draft – something his father, Curtis Walker, couldn’t do.
Curtis was a standout linebacker for Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, and was instrumental in Walker’s rise to the top of the draft. So, let’s get to know Jalon’s parents in detail.
Meet Jalon Walker’s Parents, Curtis and Sheka Walker
Born on February 24, 2004, in Salisbury, North Carolina, Jalon Walker was raised around football with his father, Curtis, who was the defensive line coach of Coastal Carolina. Being on the sidelines not only helped Jalon fall in love with the game but also offered him a different perspective on the sport.
“I got the opportunity to be around football a lot,” Jalon told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach last year. “Being on the sidelines, being at his games, being in the locker room, being at his practice. It was a great opportunity for me to learn football in a different way, from a different point of view.”
Curtis’ notable moment for Catawba College is a single-game record with 25 tackles against Wofford in 1991. He then joined the program as a linebackers coach in 1995 before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2001. In 2003, Curtis was announced as the defensive coordinator of Coastal Carolina, serving in the position for ten years before returning to Catawba as head coach in 2013.
Curtis’ didn’t force Jalon into football and instead let him fall in love with the sport and himself come to it, which he did as a seventh-grader.
“It was a little strange being the head coach in this community, and my son’s not even playing football,” Curtis remarked. “We were excited that he finally decided that he wanted to play.”
“I appreciate my dad, because he let me fall in love with football myself,” Jalon said. “He didn’t press me to play football. He just let football come to me.”
When Jalon was a small kid, he had told his mother, Sheka, that he would become famous and arrive in Hollywood in a limousine. While he didn’t arrive in a limousine, Jalon has become famous and when he made to he CFP National Championship in 2023, Sheka’s heart was melting with happiness.
“Well son, you made it,” LaSheka told him. “You may not have made it in the limo, but you made it to Hollywood.”
“Looking back, you hear a child say that and you think they’re just talking and dreaming,” LaSheka said. “It melts my heart. It really makes me happy. I smile from ear to ear because ever since he was a little boy, he always knew that he wanted to do something great.”
Jalon’s popularity has only grown since, and the 21-year-old is now looking forward to bigger and greater things on and off the field.