One player who we honestly don’t know a lot about is 2014 third-round pick Nicholas Walker, the center back from Fairleigh Dickinson in New Jersey.
Walker, who hails from Trinidad and Tobago, accompanied FC Dallas on their trip to the United Arab Emirates and played in both matches against BK Hacken. However, he did not travel to Florida last week because he had some paperwork to get taken care of back in his Caribbean home country. I caught up with him after training on Tuesday and here’s what he had to say.
How do you think you did in the two matches against BK Hacken during the UAE trip?
Walker: It was hard to adjust, coming from college. It was different, much faster. But I think I did well. I did OK I’ll say. I showed what I had and that’s why I’m here today.
What has been the biggest difference you’ve noticed in the pro game thus far?
Walker: The speed of the game, definitely. (You need) more fitness because it’s way faster and it takes more decision making, but that’s the only difference I think.
Talk about what qualities you feel like you bring to FCD.
Walker: I think my speed is to my advantage. I’m not as technical as the rest of the defenders here, but I do have the speed on my side to help me.
Your country has produced several MLS players, like Cordell Cato of San Jose. How much do you want to follow in their footsteps and also do well in the league?
Walker: I’m trying. All we need in Trinidad is the opportunity to get out and the ones that get the opportunity, you can see we’ve done really well for ourselves. So I’m just trying to be another one out here and show what I have.
Discuss how long you’ve been in the States.
Walker: This is my fourth year. I left college early. I graduated in three and a half years, so this would have been finishing my fourth year.
What did you do after graduating from FDU early?
Walker: I went home and kicked right back for like a month.
Did you ever think getting drafted was a possibility?
Walker: To be honest, I wasn’t even following the draft. I did not think that I would be drafted at all, so I didn’t watch it. Just one day, I was home and got a phone call from my teammate here in the States saying that I had been drafted. I was ecstatic.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NICHOLAS WALKER
D MOISES HERNANDEZ
He’s a good person first. He’s a good teammate. He’s good in the air. He gives a good long ball, so he’s going to be a good player this year helping our team forward. That’s what we want.
GK CHRIS SEITZ
He’s good. I think obviously missed him a little bit in Florida, but he’s one of those guys that sees the field well. He’s aggressive. He’s strong in the air and he’s also good with his feet, something that no one really talks about, but he definitely has some good skill on his feet. We’re all comfortable with him. He’s one of those guys that fits in well and really does exactly what a lot of our center backs do-likes to bang and win headers and definitely make it hard on their forwards.
He showed really well in Dubai. I think everyone’s really happy with him and he’s one of those guys that fits in well. So we’re obviously going to welcome him to the team and all that, so it’s been good.
FCD HEAD COACH OSCAR PAREJA
I like his attitude. I like the whole package. I think he’s a player who needs a lot of work still and he knows it, which is good. And for me, it’s encouraging to see that there are a lot of tools there that can be molded and we can use in the team and probably has a very good project for the future. So, I’m excited to work with someone like Nicholas.
He’s a very strong candidate to make it (our opening-day roster), yes.