Walkersville DT Tucker a menacing presence

Coach Joe Polce is the first to admit it: His defense was "terrible" last year. Walkersville, who many projected would make a deep playoff run in the class 2A Division, couldn't tackle well, couldn't knock down a pass and couldn't make any key stops. They gave up 23 points per game and ended the season with four straight losses, surrendering at least 28 points in each.

But there was a bright spot on the Lions' porous D.

"Ty Tucker could play," Polce said, pointing out his 6-foot-3, 265-pound junior defensive tackle. "He's really quick, he used his size to his advantage and he's got good balance, good feet and good body control. He did his job."

Indeed he did. The anchor of the defensive line, Tucker recorded 30 tackles, five sacks and three pass deflections last year. More importantly, most of those numbers came against superior foes.

Take the Linganore game in Week 3, when Tucker officially "busted out" against one of the league's better teams, according to Polce.

After two straight wins to begin the season the Lions were getting a cold, hard does of reality against the Lancers. They trailed Linganore by four touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Most of the players looked lethargic, just waiting for the pain to end. But Tucker still radiated with intensity. He went full-bore like it was a one-score game in the playoffs.

On one particular fourth-quarter play Tucker had his helmet knocked off. But like a barroom brawler, he continued to fight, shed off his man and make the stop. He even beat Linganore's big left tackle, Kyle Warholic, for a pair of sacks.

"A lot of people were giving up, but I prided myself on going hard all game," Tucker said. "Then when I got past Warholic I started to realize, hey, I can play at this level."

Tucker needed that reassurance. Before the 2010 season he didn't know if he'd ever make it on varsity.

Most big defensive tackles are moved along fairly quickly, especially at smaller schools like Walkersville where they're lucky to have one 260-pound lineman. But it took Tucker two full years to even make the varsity, much less start.

"With his size and quickness, we knew he was going to eventually be good, but he had to understand there's more to being a defensive linemen then just charging up the field," Polce said. "We were playing a 50 front, so he had to learn how to control his gap, fight off blockers and use his hands well. He didn't know what to do."

There were technical troubles for sure, but Tucker admits his conditioning was a problem, too. He was a rather large guy, but girth alone does not make a lineman great. Smaller, quicker defenders were able to get under his pads and blow by him.

"When I was younger I could get by without even trying," Tucker said. "I didn't take weight lifting and running that seriously. But when I didn't get moved up to varsity my sophomore year, well, that was kind of embarrassing. So I started lifting like crazy, going to camps and really focusing."

Tucker still needs to improve his strength, but a 325-pound bench and a 500 squat is better then his previous maxes. Moreover, he started attending speed-training camps to work on his agility and quickness. Everyday he'd run ladder and cone drills, which allowed him to hang with those smallish linemen.

"We saw a big improvement out of Ty last year," said Walkersville nose guard Richard Johnson, who, at 6-1, 220, looks more like a linebacker then a lineman. "I had to go against him in practice sometimes and he was pretty quick off the ball and had great technique. He was giving us problems."

It helped that Tucker took his wrestling game up a notch, too. In the winter he won the county championship, which earned him looks from a few Division-I wrestling programs.

Last fall, Tucker saw how wrestling and football complemented one another.

"Wrestling helps you with balance and body control as a defensive tackle," he said. "And when you're going against a guy one-on-one on the field, that's nothing compared to going against a guy one-on-one for a full round in wrestling. Wrestling takes the whole fear factor away."

That "no fear" attitude is the main reason Tucker never backed down in big games. Besides his breakout in Week 3, Tucker's defining performance came in the playoffs against powerhouse Middletown. Again, Walkersville's defense struggled in a blowout defeat. But Tucker still managed to record seven tackles, a pass defense and a sack.

On Middletown's first drive in the third quarter, with the score just 14-7 in their favor, Tucker made a potential game-changing play. Middletown tried to pass on third-and-long, but the menacing Walkersville tackle broke through the line and fired into the backfield. Sensing disaster, the quarterback desperately tried to throw the ball away. But Tucker leaped up (as much as a 265-pounder can leap) and batted the pass skyward. A Walkersville linebacker alertly picked the ball off and returned it to the Middletown 1-yard line, setting up a potential game-tying score.

"He controlled the gap and was able to get to the football," Polce said. "He wasn't just a space-eater. He could get up the field and get a pass rush."

That said, Tucker, like the rest of the Walkersville dense, did have a few trying moments last year. His footwork was off from time to time, and he failed to play through the whistle every down, every game.

"He showed great desire and the ability to move well, but he has to continue to work on his entire skill set," said Rivals recruiting analyst Wayne Yarborough. "He's still raw in some areas."

Tucker has heeded the advice. Unlike his first two years at Walkersville, he's intent on improving this offseason. He knows with one more standout season the college recruiters will come calling.

Tucker probably won't end up at Nebraska like his father, Leroy, who played offensive line for the Huskers. But it's possible he could land a low Division-I or high I-AA scholarship.

"That's the goal," Tucker said. "I know I can get to that level, and I'm going to do everything in my power to be one of the best [defensive tackles] in the conference."