TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Throughout the season, DeMarcus Walker rebuffed. Had an individual stats-based query for him? Pass.
An interest in discussing sack rankings was absent as the senior defensive end climbed school and national leaderboards. Even after Florida State's early-season faceplant ended championship aspirations, the Seminoles’ senior leader wouldn’t entertain talk of individual benchmarks. There were personal goals -- an unflattering review from the NFL draft advisory board helped crystallize them -- but he put Florida State first as the team struggled through the first half of 2016.
Walker is ready now, his career nearly complete and having felt he’s established himself as one of the school’s most decorated pass-rushers and, in his mind, the most dominant defensive player of the 2016 season.