Walters' star is rising as he prepares for his second season at MU

[Harry]

At 30 years old, Walters’ star is rising. He said he fielded “a couple offers” during the offseason to become a defensive coordinator elsewhere. Walters stood pat at MU with his pot sweetened. Odom added a co-defensive coordinator label to Walters’ job title, and Walters received a pay raise to $340,000 this season, a $100,000 increase.

“For one, I wanted to stay,” Walters said, “and two, the title, that made it an easier decision.”

Pinkel’s 15 seasons on the Missouri sideline featured remarkably little movement from his assistant coaches. Odom already has said goodbye to one of his hires. Defensive line coach Chris Wilson bolted for the same position with the Philadelphia Eagles less than six weeks after joining Odom’s staff.

Walters feels loyalty to Odom. He also has lofty career aspirations.

“I don’t care if you’re a janitor or the president, you try to be the best at what you do,” Walters said. “And in our profession, the head coach is the pinnacle of the coaching tree, so obviously, one day, God willing, if I get the chance to do so, that’d be great.”

Walters is the second-youngest coach in the Southeastern Conference to have the title of offensive or defensive coordinator or co-coordinator. Kodi Burns, 27, is the co-offensive coordinator at Auburn under offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.

Although Walters added the co-coordinator title, Missouri’s defensive coordinator duties are not shared. Cross is in charge of the defense.

“He is the defensive coordinator, and he deserves that title,” Walters said.

Walters will continue coaching the safeties while also offering any insight he thinks will be beneficial to the entire defense. Additionally, Odom said that other than himself, Walters probably has more special-teams coaching responsibilities than anyone on staff.

“You can tell he has a lot of input on the entire program at the age of 30,” said tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley, who was a graduate assistant with Walters at Oklahoma in 2012.

Walters tries to make his youth an asset.

Finley called Walters “probably the best recruiter in America.” Walters said he relates easily to the athletes he’s recruiting, in part because he’s closer in age to the prospects than most other coaches who come calling.

Walters’ musical interests probably aren’t all that different than many of his players. He likes hip hop artists Drake, Travis Scott and Future.

Walters was left playing catch-up on popular television show “Breaking Bad,” which went off the air in 2013 — Walters recently finished watching the show — but he tries to stay current. He’s a fan of the Netflix original crime thriller “Narcos” and is eagerly awaiting the next season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

“I don’t play video games, but I know how to get on the Xbox if I need to,” Walters said.

Relatability only goes so far in recruiting, though. It’s Walters’ ability to build bonds, Finley said, that sets him apart.

“He’s very personable,” Finley said. “He can talk to an 18-year-old kid for the first time, and it feels like they’ve been talking for two years.”

read more:

http://www.columbiatribune.com/sports/mu_football/walters-star-is-rising-as-he-prepares-for-his-second/article_20b28661-7d53-53de-b4b3-2769865de75d.html

 

[MeanGreenTexan]

Glad to see coach Walters is doing so well.   He was a great find by coach McCarney.  A huge reason that defense clicked so well in 2013.

[MGNation92]

12 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Glad to see coach Walters is doing so well.   He was a great find by coach McCarney.  A huge reason that defense clicked so well in 2013.

Definitely. Walters was great, and so was Noah Joseph, the safeties coach(now at Rutgers).

[UNT 90 Grad]

On 5/2/2016 at 11:15 AM, Harry said:

At 30 years old, Walters’ star is rising. He said he fielded “a couple offers” during the offseason to become a defensive coordinator elsewhere. Walters stood pat at MU with his pot sweetened. Odom added a co-defensive coordinator label to Walters’ job title, and Walters received a pay raise to $340,000 this season, a $100,000 increase.

“For one, I wanted to stay,” Walters said, “and two, the title, that made it an easier decision.”

Pinkel’s 15 seasons on the Missouri sideline featured remarkably little movement from his assistant coaches. Odom already has said goodbye to one of his hires. Defensive line coach Chris Wilson bolted for the same position with the Philadelphia Eagles less than six weeks after joining Odom’s staff.

Walters feels loyalty to Odom. He also has lofty career aspirations.

“I don’t care if you’re a janitor or the president, you try to be the best at what you do,” Walters said. “And in our profession, the head coach is the pinnacle of the coaching tree, so obviously, one day, God willing, if I get the chance to do so, that’d be great.”

Walters is the second-youngest coach in the Southeastern Conference to have the title of offensive or defensive coordinator or co-coordinator. Kodi Burns, 27, is the co-offensive coordinator at Auburn under offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee.

Although Walters added the co-coordinator title, Missouri’s defensive coordinator duties are not shared. Cross is in charge of the defense.

“He is the defensive coordinator, and he deserves that title,” Walters said.

Walters will continue coaching the safeties while also offering any insight he thinks will be beneficial to the entire defense. Additionally, Odom said that other than himself, Walters probably has more special-teams coaching responsibilities than anyone on staff.

“You can tell he has a lot of input on the entire program at the age of 30,” said tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley, who was a graduate assistant with Walters at Oklahoma in 2012.

Walters tries to make his youth an asset.

Finley called Walters “probably the best recruiter in America.” Walters said he relates easily to the athletes he’s recruiting, in part because he’s closer in age to the prospects than most other coaches who come calling.

Walters’ musical interests probably aren’t all that different than many of his players. He likes hip hop artists Drake, Travis Scott and Future.

Walters was left playing catch-up on popular television show “Breaking Bad,” which went off the air in 2013 — Walters recently finished watching the show — but he tries to stay current. He’s a fan of the Netflix original crime thriller “Narcos” and is eagerly awaiting the next season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

“I don’t play video games, but I know how to get on the Xbox if I need to,” Walters said.

Relatability only goes so far in recruiting, though. It’s Walters’ ability to build bonds, Finley said, that sets him apart.

“He’s very personable,” Finley said. “He can talk to an 18-year-old kid for the first time, and it feels like they’ve been talking for two years.”

read more:

http://www.columbiatribune.com/sports/mu_football/walters-star-is-rising-as-he-prepares-for-his-second/article_20b28661-7d53-53de-b4b3-2769865de75d.html

 

I was trying to figure out who this Walters guy was.  No first name mentioned and the link is bad.  I think I pieced it together.  🤔 

Edited October 17, 2018 by UNT 90 Grad