Football: Walters trying to get back on top

Liberty grad walks on at Pitt, and now wants to see serious playing time

‘‘It’s very humbling,” Walters said. ‘‘Everybody here is amazing. I look forward to playing hard and it’s fun just trying to prove yourself every day.”

Upon arrival at Pittsburgh, Walters immediately recognized college was a completely different ballgame. He had to adapt and quickly. The tired old clichés of bigger, faster, stronger actually applied. Earning his way onto the team, he was redshirted — a typical practice in which a player can practice but not participate in any games and does not lose a year of eligibility — while slotted as a linebacker by Pitt’s coaching staff. Prior to the 2006 season he was moved to the offensive side of the ball at tight end, his current position.

‘‘Everybody from the line to the skill players in on a whole different level,” the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Walters said. ‘‘The worst people here were probably all-state somewhere [in high school]. It’s cool playing with people with such an age difference some of who are 21 or 22. Everyone is faster, stronger and quicker and everything is intensified a little bit.”

Since the position switch, Walters has continued to hone his skills. He saw his first college action in the Panthers’ 45-3 deconstruction of Toledo on Sept. 30 at Heinz Field last year. Two weeks later, he played in a 52-7 clobbering of Central Florida in Orlando. His constant progression during practice and in the weight room has caught the collective eye of Pitts’ coaches and his teammates

‘‘Yeah, I think he will [contribute], tight ends coach Brian Angelichio said. ‘‘We have three pretty good players ahead of him but he’s put himself in a position where if one goes down with an injury he’s going to be right in there, especially in some of our two and three tight end sets. He’s definitely gained the confidence of our coaching staff and our teammates.”

Angelichio had to work his way up at Pitt too. Around the same period Walters was changing positions Angelichio was joining the Panthers as a graduate assistant in charge of tight ends. Last winter the St. Lawrence University graduate was rewarded for his diligence and dedication by being promoted to full-time assistant coach. He sees a corresponding drive and work ethic in Walters.

‘‘He’s done a very good job,” Angelichio said. ‘‘He’s a hard-working guy. He’s very coachable and has done a really nice job.”

One of the plays at which Walters excels is a featured timing pattern. It’s fitting because time has never been more significant to Walters, who devotes as much value to his textbooks as his football playbook.

‘‘I’ve had to learn a lot of discipline and mental toughness,” Walters said. ‘‘It’s a huge time commitment. We have a lot of requirements and plus you have to do extra work like getting up really early and lifting. You have to be smart ... you learn time management really quickly and a lot of discipline with being on time, being ready and being prepared. Then there is the toughness aspect too. You have to learn to push yourself and go a little harder. You get back in there and just have to keep going.”

Pitt hosts Eastern Michigan on Sept. 1 to open the season. That day when he exits the tunnel and steps onto the field, Walters will be in full uniform and, like his teammates, will be inundated by the cheers of 65,000 fans. It’s a long way from his unheralded arrival on campus two years ago. But he knows how he got there, and on how he plans on getting back to the top.

‘‘It doesn’t matter what position you play or how big you are,” he said. ‘‘If you have the drive, you can do it. ... if you stay in the weight room, keep learning and have the drive to get better there is no doubt you can make it at any level.”