College football: Michael Walker, Naples all over Boston College's field last Saturday

There was quite a Naples reunion in Boston College's Alumni Stadium last Saturday as the Golden Eagles moved to 2-0 with a 62-14 home spin-around of Holy Cross.

The home team's Michael Walker, a 6-foot, 195-pound senior receiver and kick return whiz, faced off against former Naples High teammate Chris Riley and Community School's Joe Lang, both Holy Cross starting safeties.

On hand besides Walker's parents -- Mike and Bonnie, who have made just about all their son's Boston College games -- was 21-year Naples High coach Bill Kramer, whose Golden Eagles were off that Friday night.

"It was a highlight for me," said Kramer, the FHSAA Hall of Fame coach who got to take in his first Boston tour. "I don't get to do it very often. My wife and I had this trip planned a year ago and (Hurricane) Irma hit and the game got cancelled. So we were able to re-use the tickets to get up there.

"To see the two boys out there, man, leading their teams -- seeing the impact they have and their energy and effort -- was just great."

Walker, who played quarterback at Naples High and signed with Boston College as a safety, had two receptions for 18 yards and two runs for nine yards.

The 5-11, 2-6-pound sophomore Lang, a second-team all-stater as a senior, had five tackles. A junior, Riley (6-3, 193) had two stops.

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Afterward, the three players wished one another luck and mingled with each other's parents.

"It was a pretty cool thing, being able to play against Chris Riley, who I played with for three years," Walker said. "He's a great player. And I even grew up playing Pop Warner (for the Naples Hurricanes) with Joe Lang, who's a year or two younger than me. It was cool to play against him."

Lang brought down Walker on a sideline after a 19-yard punt return.

"That was pretty funny," Walker said.

Two other Naples products were there. Former Gulf Coast offensive lineman Michael Mambuca, a Holy Cross sophomore, did not play. Boston College freshman linebacker Joe Sparacio of First Baptist Academy had an assisted tackle.

Despite the age gap, Walker initially took Sparacio under his wing, but the latter has grown more comfortable and has branched out. The son of First Baptist coach Billy, Sparacio plays the strong side, so when Walker is in the slot in practice, he sometimes draws coverage from him.

"I'm excited for him," Walker said. "He's working hard. I expect some big things from him, especially on special teams, this year. He's a tough kid. He's got that old-school (hair)cut. He's a hard-nosed player and he'll get the job done and do it to his best ability."

The Daily News Offensive Player of the Year as a senior at Naples, Walker has been an impact player since arriving at Boston College. He had to be a bit creative to make that happen.

"I knew coming in I needed to do whatever I could to get on the field with special teams," Walker said. "Figured out how to get that done freshman year then kept on making strides, taking steps."

Naples' Walker named Preseason All-American

Walker played in all 12 games and was named to the Sporting News Freshman All-American Team after his first season. He ranked second in the ACC and 10th nationally with a 28.6-yard kickoff return average, which is the Boston College single-season record.

He started seven games and played in all 13 as a sophomore, leading the Eagles with 420 receiving yards and four touchdown catches while also recording 41 rushing yards and 106 kickoff return yards.

As a junior, Walker led the nation with 1,203 combined kickoff and punt return yards and was sixth nationally and tops in the ACC with a 13.1-yard punt return average. He was second on the team with 105.5 all-purpose yards per game.

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"He has continued to excel and surpass our dreams for him," said sixth-year Boston College coach Steve Addazio, who recruited the Naples area as an assistant at Florida from 2005-10. "He's come in here and been an impact player for us and gotten better each year. Great representative of what Boston College is all about.

"Michael's an outstanding player. He affects our special teams, he affects our offense, he affects the leadership of our team."

While Boston College has outscored UMass and Holy Cross by a combined 117-35, Walker has caught four passes for 26 yards and rushed four times on jet sweeps for 27 more. He's averaging 9.3 yards on punt returns and 23.3 on kickoff bring-backs, which rates 36th nationally.

"I'm feeling very good," Walker said. "I'm excited about this season. We've gotten off to a really good start in all aspects, especially on offense. We've got to keep rolling."

Walker said Boston College's goal is to win the ACC and that that's realistic. He said the "real season" starts Thursday when the Golden Eagles open conference play at Wake Forest (2-0), which Walker noted has a strong defense, especially its secondary where Luke Masterson of Gulf Coast played quite a bit of safety last season. The sophomore has missed the first two games with a "lower body" injury and isn't expected to return until at least Game 4.

Although Walker will be training for a shot at the NFL after graduating in December, there's a lot more to him than football. That's why he's one of 169 nominees from all divisions for the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which honors "dedication to volunteerism and enriching the lives of others."

"When I found out about it, I was more than honored looking at the list of the people that are on it and who have won it," said Walker, who won the Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award as a senior at Naples High. "That's what it's all about -- doing what you can for the community and giving back."

Addazio is super-impressed.

"He's an unbelievable high-character, wonderful kid," he said. "Comes from a wonderful family. He's wired the right way. Cares about all the right stuff. Tremendous worker, great student. You're talking about one of those All-American guys."

Kramer, who has known Walker since he was about 6 and is tight with his dad, couldn't be more proud.

"He's an impact guy for them," Kramer said. "They love him. He's a fan favorite and a player favorite.

"He deserves all that with his work ethic and his integrity."