Darrin Walls, Jr. (born June 20, 1988) is an American college football coach and former cornerback agent. He is the co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach for the University at Albany, SUNY, a position he has held since 2023. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football at Notre Dame.
| Albany Great Danes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Co-defensive coordinator & cornerbacks coach | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | June 20, 1988 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Pittsburgh (PA) Woodland Hills | ||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2011 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editWalls spent his childhood and adolescence years playing Pop Warner football for the Garfield Gators Youth Football Organization, which has establish a winning tradition throughout the City of Pittsburgh. He attended and graduated from Woodland Hills High School, the same school that produced Jason Taylor. He was a three-sport athlete in football, baseball and track. In football, he played on both sides of the ball. He helped Woodland Hills to WPIAL title as freshman in 2002. He had 53 tackles and six interceptions and also broke up 30 passes, while also rushing for 550 yards and 11 touchdowns, and catching six passes for 230 yards and three scores as a junior. In his final year, he made 22 tackles, had one interception and rushed 29 times for 235 yards and four touchdowns.
In track & field, Walls competed as a sprinter. He qualified for the 2006 PIAA T&F State Championships in the 100-meter dash (10.94 s) and the 200-meter dash (22.51 s), where he took 11th and 7th, respectively. He also coaches sprinting at Baldwin High School.[1]
Professional career
editAtlanta Falcons
editIn 2011, he was signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent. He played 5 games with the team and had 2 tackles, an interception and defended 2 passes for the 2011 season.
New York Jets
editAfter an injury to Darrelle Revis the New York Jets signed Walls to their practice squad on September 29, 2012.[2] He was promoted to the active roster on November 22, 2012.[3] In 2013, Walls split his time as a starter and reliever with Dee Milliner. During the 2015 season, Walls played in 13 games and collected three tackles, three pass defenses and seven special teams tackles.
Detroit Lions
editOn March 29, 2016, Walls signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions.[4] On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Lions.[5]
Coaching career
editIn 2017, Walls was hired as the defensive coordinator for Baldwin High School.[6]
In 2020, Walls was hired as the defensive backs coach for Slippery Rock.[7]
In 2021, Walls was hired as the cornerbacks coach for Albany.[8] In 2023, he was promoted to co-defensive coordinator while retaining his role as cornerbacks coach.[9]
Personal life
editHe is the son of Former NBA and CBA player Darrin Walls Sr. His father spent time with the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets in the 1980s before heading to Sacramento to play in the CBA.
References
edit- ^ "Darrin Walls - Feed".
- ^ Jets Media Relations Department (September 28, 2012). "CB Walls Signed to P-Squad; White Released". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
- ^ Florio, Mike (November 22, 2012). "Jets promote three from practice squad". ProFootballTalk. Archived from the original on November 28, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
- ^ "Lions sign unrestricted free agent CB Darrin Walls". Detroit Lions. March 29, 2016. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ "Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017.
- ^ "Where Are They Now: Darrin Walls". www.newyorkjets.com. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Walls named defensive backs coach at SRU". Slippery Rock University Athletics. March 9, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ Wyland, Rodger (November 14, 2022). "Darrin Walls enjoying first two seasons on Great Danes coaching staff". WNYT.com NewsChannel 13. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
- ^ "Albany native, Super Bowl champ Lewis joins UAlbany football staff; Great Danes shuffle assistant roles". The Daily Gazette. March 31, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2024.