Walker, 51, is a 1985 graduate of the high school, where he was an All-State linebacker and helped the Jays win the 1984 state championship. He played two years at Mizzou --- "I learned the importance of fundamentals those two years," Walker said, "because we didn't have any." --- before transferring to Air Force and playing two years for the Falcons.

He's a decorated 22-year Air Force veteran, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel, before retiring in 2013. Walker was an active pilot for 17 years and had a "fair amount" of combat time, flying mostly F-15s.

Longtime Jays assistant and had coach Ron Cole had a great thought about the difference between a career in the Air Force and a coaching career.

"The big difference," Cole said, "is that he was flying a $5 billion jet, and now he's responsible for teaching high school kids the fundamentals of football."

Walker's first return to the Jays was in 2013, as he served as an assistant on LePage's staff for two years. In 2015, he was named head coach at Blair Oaks, where he had a wonderful run in three years --- 27-0 in the regular season, 37-3 overall, one trip to the quarterfinals, two trips to the semifinals.

Saying good-bye to the Falcons was no easy or enjoyable task.

"That was a tough conversation," Walker said. "Those kids worked so incredibly hard and they did everything we asked them to do, and they gave us their very best. That's all you can ask.

"They have an incredible amount of pride at Blair Oaks, and I have a similar amount of pride in the high school I graduated from. So I think they understand that, if not now, at some point."

Besides his military background, Walker is a disciple of his high school coach, Pete Adkins. So you know what to expect.

These Jays will know how to block and they will know how to tackle.

In other words, substance before style.

"Fundamentals ... they're like waking up and brushing your teeth, it's just something you do," Walker said. "Fundamentals will be inherent in everything we do and every practice we have --- if you can't block and you can't tackle, you're going to have a hard time having much success on the football field.

"Being able to block and tackle has little to do with how big you are and how fast you are, it's about practicing the technique and executing it."

Walker continued.

"Coach Adkins would probably cringe when I say this," he said, "but I don't tend to talk about winning and losing too much. I talk about the process you have to go through to prepare.

"You complete that process, you play with incredible effort and you compete as hard as you can, and you're physically and mentally tough, then you've given yourself the best chance to win football games."

Adkins, like most Jay fans, couldn't be more pleased with this hire.

"I was hoping this was the way it would turn out, but you never know.," he said. "But I think this is the right hire, this is the way we want to go, because this program needs a complete overhaul. And I think Terry's the right man for the job."

Adkins was a frequent visitor to Wardsville to watch and support Walker's teams.

"The fundamentals he was teaching out there, it was very, very evident" Adkins said. "And they were in great condition --- they were a second-half ball club and the reason for that is the way they worked."

Walker's first two orders of business are the offseason conditioning program and assembling his staff.

"Out of respect for the current staff here," he said, "I'm going to meet with each of those guys and ask them what their intentions are. But I will anticipate there will be some changes to the staff. The extent of those changes, I don't know yet."

Several coaches on LePage's staff followed Walker to Blair Oaks three years ago ... and you shouldn't be surprised if some follow him back to Jefferson City.

"Some of those guys who are born and bred Jaybirds," Walker said, "I think they'll give serious consideration to coming back to Jeff City. But I don't want to speak for them."

Walker met briefly with the Jays prior to Wednesday's announcement.

"As I told our players," he said, "I know what it means to be a Jay and I have an incredible amount of pride in having graduated from this high school. I know there are a lot of Jaybirds out there, I run into them all the time, and I know they are genuinely interested in the success of these kids and this program."

Walker then concluded.

"If I didn't think we could win soon," he said, "I wouldn't be here. We're going to work incredibly hard and I promise you, we'll be ready to go for our first game.

"I'm excited ... it's good to be home."

As expected, Walker returning
home to be head coach of Jays

New Jefferson City Jays head football coach Terry Walker (left) was joined at Wednesday's announcement by former head coaches Pete Adkins and Ron Cole.

Loeffler's Link