THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Crespi’s Walker--the Lineman Who Would Be Quarterback

It was time to put up or shut up. Matt Walker has been putting it up ever since.

Last spring, after three years of trying to convince his coaches at Crespi High that he had the tools to play quarterback, Walker was tapped on the shoulder during the first day of off-season drills.

“If you want to be a quarterback,” Walker was told, “follow me.”

Coach Tim Lins figured this was going to be better than a trip to the chiropractor. At long last, he could get rid of a persistent pain in the neck.

“I wanted to give him a shot so he could see how bad he was,” Lins said. “I basically wanted him to see that he had no chance.”

How things have changed. Saturday morning, hours after Walker had passed for 307 yards to lead Crespi to an edge-of-your-seat 28-24 victory over Chaminade, a Celt lineman walked into the team locker room, got on his knees and bowed toward the quarterback.

We’re not worthy .

We’re not worthy.

Walker has proven his value and then some. Despite virtually no experience at quarterback--at any level--he has led Crespi to a 3-0 start.

Walker’s yardage total Friday is the third-highest in school history. Only Cody Smith, who graduated last spring, has fared better. Smith passed for 373 yards against St. Paul as a junior and threw for 370 against Notre Dame in 1991.

The long-standing team joke with the burly Smith, now at University of the Pacific, was that he was a lineman playing quarterback. Walker takes the story to the next level.

Walker is a lineman.

Last fall, Walker (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) spent most of his time on the sideline as a backup defensive lineman who played primarily on special teams. It left him plenty of time to dream, or as Lins no doubt was thinking, to hallucinate.

“It’s every lineman’s dream to be a quarterback,” Walker said. “Every kid who throws the ball around in the street wants to be the main man.”

Walker, who moved to Los Angeles from Pensacola, Fla., before his freshman year, knows what it is like to throw the ball. Last season, Walker said, Lins and Smith routinely used to compete to see who could throw the ball the farthest. Walker, ever the wanna-be, used to try his hand.

“I’d say, ‘Watch this,’ and then choke and throw a flutterball,” Walker said.

Of course, that was what lingered in Lins’ mind when preparation began for 1992. In fact, even when the season opened and Walker earned the starting nod, Lins treated him with kid gloves. He was allowed to attempt three passes in a victory over Serra in Week 1. He completed two, and ever since his completion percentage has remained rock solid.

After three games, Walker has completed a heady 32 of 48 (66.7%) for 509 yards and two touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception.

“I never expected this kind of poise from him,” Lins said.

In each of the past two games, Walker has led Crespi to the decisive touchdown in the final moments. Because of the particulars of each game, Walker has been given the green light to throw, and he has produced.

“We’ve really opened it up the last two games,” Walker said. “The best is yet to come.”

Like Smith before him, there is considerable swagger to Walker’s ways. Smith, though, was a three-year starter. “You have to be very confident to be a quarterback,” said Walker, who turned 17 last week. “I’m not cocky. . . . But I’m not lacking in confidence, as the coaches would say.”

Now the coaches know why.

Back in motion: Taft standout Jerry Brown is not the only high school back in the family, and you can bet he will be hearing about it all week.

Johnnie Brown, Jerry’s older brother and a tailback at Poly, was back in prime form Friday night in a 26-10 victory over Harvard-Westlake, rushing for 171 yards and two touchdowns. It has been a long road back for Johnnie, a senior who suffered a debilitating injury to his right knee last season.

As a junior at San Fernando, Johnnie gained 225 yards in 20 carries (11.3-yard average) before he blew out his knee in the fourth game. He since has moved in with his father and transferred to Poly.

Johnnie had gained 28 yards in nine carries before earning a start and breaking loose against Harvard.

“(The knee) felt good,” Johnnie said. “There were no problems. I got hit a couple of times, but it was cool.”

Jerry, a sophomore at Taft, had 354 yards entering play Friday night, but he was held to 60 yards in 12 carries by Monroe.