By Bill Foley
For Corbin Walker, it came down to positioning.
The Butte High School senior said that is why he chose to play football at Carroll College. Walker signed an NAIA Letter of Intent to play for the Saints Monday night.
Walker is the first Butte High player to join the Saints since Trevor Haas went to Helena 11 years ago.
“That’s exciting,” said Butte High coach Arie Grey, who led the Bulldogs for the 10th season last fall. “He’s the first guy we’ve got to Carroll.”
After redshirting during his freshman season, Walker will play H-back for the Saints. That’s a hybrid fullback-tight end position that helped Walker choose Carroll over Montana Tech and Montana Western.
“I really just thought it’s a good fit for me,” Walker said of signing with the Saints.
While Walker is eyeing a certain position at the collegiate level, he played multiple positions for the Bulldogs. Walker played fullback, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker in Butte High purple and white.
Grey called Walker the “ultimate team guy.” That was obvious simply by looking at Walker’s number on the roster. He switched from No. 53 to No. 5 for his senior season so he could move to fullback for Butte High.
“He changed his number every year,” Grey said. “Whatever was best for the team, Corbin was willing to do it.”
After lettering for the Bulldogs as a sophomore, Walker became a force for Butte High over his last two seasons. He was named second-team all-conference at defensive line following his junior season.
This past November, Walker was named first-team all-conference and second-team All-State at defensive line. He was the lone Butte High player to take home first-team all-conference honors.
On Christmas Day, Walker was named an alternate for the West Team for the Montana East-West Shrine Game.
The 5-foot-10, 215-pound Walker said he will spend his redshirt season working on getting stronger and packing on pounds. He will also begin working on his major, which will be health and human sciences.
Grey said Walker will be a nice fit for the Saints on and off the field. Walker is also an Academic All-State performer for Butte High.
“He’ll fit in perfectly,” Grey said. “He’s a hard worker in the weight room. He never misses a workout. Hopefully, our younger guys will see how hard he worked and follow in his footsteps.”
Before he moves onto Helena, Walker will complete his track career for the Bulldogs this spring. He’s a weights guy who also runs the 100, 200 and 400.
Walker said he is happy his decision is finally behind him. Carroll assistant coach Jim Hogan was at his house on Monday night as Walker signed.
“I was pretty excited to get it done,” Walker said.
Walker, the son of Jean Scharchburg and Wayne Walker, is the fourth Butte High player to announce his college plans following the 2017 season.
Greyson Mandic and Bo Mortnesen will play for Montana Tech, while Nathaniel Morin-Ferguson is heading to the University of Montana.
