Baylor lands former JUCO star and third-leading tackler from Georgia State

Baylor lost some key linebackers to the transfer portal: Keaton Thomas, Jeremy Evans, and Phoenix Jackson. With the status of Travion Barnes up in the air, the Bears needed to hit he portal in hopes of adding some talent. On Monday, Baylor landed a former JUCO star and a top tackler from Georgia State.

The Bears landed a commitment from LB Kedrick Walker, who has good speed and an ability to tackle the ball carrier.

Walker just finished his first season at Georgia State. He played the 2024 season at Hutchinson Community College, and played from 2022-2023 at Bethel. Walker should have one more year of eligibility remaining, but that could change with the JUCO status being up in the air.

Transfer Portal Spotlight:

Kedrick Walker (@kedrick_walker) 6’2” | 225 lbs | Inside Linebacker

Experienced, highly productive linebacker with success at all levels.@247Sports Top-100 prospect — rated 79 nationally and 4th-ranked ILB in the JUCO Class of 2024.… pic.twitter.com/2prJpguSY5
— Nilson Sports (@nilsonsports) January 2, 2026

Walker's year at Georgia State

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker had an excellent season coming to Division 1 football. In his first year with Georgia State, Walker finished third on the team with 57 tackles. Playing in 12 games -- making four starts at Mike -- Walker added 6.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks to his resume.

According to Pro Football Focus, Walker played in 471 snaps for the Panthers this year. He was one of the top tacklers on the team, PFF giving him an 80.8 tackling grade. While that was his strong suit, Pro Football Focus has Walker having a 30.6 coverage grade, which was the worst on the team.

Walker allowed nearly 90% of the targets his way to be caught. While that wasn't great, he did only miss 8% of his tackles this season, one of the best on the team.

New-look LB room

Walker will join former Arkansas LB JJ Shelton as the two new LBs in the room heading into 2026. Baylor could make more moves to add talent into the room, but if the Bears are able to retain Travion Barnes, who suffered a season-ending injury early in the season -- that would make Baylor's LB room very strong.

Baylor also brings back Kaleb Burns, who played a lot as a freshman. Both Walker and Shelton should see early playing time in Waco in 2026 and both have proven themselves to be capable of making big plays at this level.

Walker's year at Georgia State

New-look LB room

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