On Saturdays and soon-to-be Wednesdays, spectators can find Ohio defensive end Marcel Walker-Burgess wreaking havoc on opposing offenses. The graduate student will line up all over the line of scrimmage for John Hauser’s defense, excelling in any position he is put in.
Walker-Burgess’ road to becoming the star defensive weapon for Ohio wasn’t linear; the Piscataway, New Jersey, native’s playing career was not in an ideal place coming out of high school.
Walker-Burgess was a standout player at Piscataway High School, helping his team win a state championship in the 2018-19 season. He was a top-50 recruit in New Jersey and was named to New Jersey’s second-team all-defense as a senior. Despite all the accolades in high school, it was the classroom holding Walker-Burgess back.
“I had the potential to go to a big power five school, but being a young athlete, I didn't really take school seriously,” Walker-Burgess said. “It took a lot of maturing for me … to really realize that I had a future within football.”
It is not uncommon for talented, young football players to be held back from their potential due to things outside of football. Walker-Burgess was one of those players coming out of high school. He eventually landed at Southern Connecticut State, an NCAA Division II school in New Haven, Connecticut.
Landing in New Haven out of high school was not where Walker-Burgess wanted to be, but he says it was all a part of the process for him as a player.
“I had to work harder because of me not taking stuff seriously at the beginning of everything; it’s part of the process,” Walker-Burgess said. “At points and times, I kicked myself because I knew I had the talent to play at some of these bigger schools.”
He excelled as an Owl, going for 17 tackles, two sacks and an interception in his one season at Southern Connecticut.
“I think the biggest thing was just not taking anything for granted,” Walker-Burgess said. “Being a winning program to coming to Southern Connecticut, we struggled. And there's a lot of things that I had to learn to adjust to.”
The year Walker-Burgess had on the field at Southern Connecticut led to the defensive end transferring to a bigger school, and Nevada was his choice coming out of the transfer portal. Much like the recruitment process in high school, Walker-Burgess’ time as a recruit in the transfer portal was not as linear or smooth as some might expect.
“It’s as likely of a chance that I’m gonna get out (of the transfer portal) as it is that I’m not, so you always have that in the back of your mind,” Walker-Burgess said. “It just pushes you to keep going, sometimes just at the end of the day, you gotta put it in God's hands.”
Walker-Burgess’ time in Reno, Nevada, was very productive, spending two years in the Mountain West Conference and breaking out in his second year with the Wolf Pack as a junior.
Walker-Burgess played in all 12 games and led the team in sacks with four on the season. He also led the team with six and a half tackles for loss. Those numbers were great improvements from his sophomore year, but even with the massive improvement Walker-Burgess was not named as a Mountain West honorable mention. By the end of 2023, Nevada was just 2-10.
It was again time for Walker-Burgess to transfer, and Ohio was the choice for a plethora of reasons.
“The driving force with that was obviously my coaching staff was going and just once again, opportunities to play,” Walker-Burgess said. “I was blessed and honored to have the chance to move back a little bit closer (to home). So that was definitely something that drove me; to get closer back home to be with my family.”
Although all of those factors were important in Walker-Burgess coming to Athens, a connection with the other Mountain-West-turned-Ohio-addition Kurt Mattix helped Walker-Burgess become a Bobcat.
“How that all came across was just a former position coach that I had,” Walker-Burgess said. “Coach Mattix coached him when he was in college. He was able to connect (us) and take it from there.”
His connection with Mattix has paid dividends for the Ohio defense this season, as Walker-Burgess has been a player to watch on a talented Ohio front seven. Walker-Burgess currently has 37 tackles, three sacks, four tackles for loss and an interception in his role this season which sees him roam around the field as a hybrid edge-rusher and linebacker.
“I'm versatile,“ Walker-Burgess said. “I can go a little bit, I can drop back. The defensive coordinator, Coach Hauser, he’s just trying to use my abilities to try to help out the team … If I’m able to do it, I’m going to do it.”
It has been a long road to Athens for Walker-Burgess, but the graduate transfer from New Jersey has found a productive and unique role for an impressive defense in what could be his final season of college football.
“I have the freedom to roam, (do) whatever I need to do just to help out the defense,” Walker-Burgess said. “It's a good thing. I'm happy to be here to make stuff like that happen.”
