By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          After growing up in Thomaston and playing in a college town, Travon Walker is getting ready for the bright lights and big city of an NFL career by hosting some folks under some bright lights in a big city.

          Walker and a guests-only collection will be corralled at the Omni in the Battery near Truist Park north of Atlanta for what is likely to be a short wait for his name to be called in the NFL Draft.

          The former multi-sport standout at Upson-Lee is by all accounts going to be picked in the first five picks, and one of two favorites for No. 1, making him the highest selection among many Central Georgia first-round picks.

          He’ll be followed by cameras starting about four hours before the draft starts and before the private gathering commences.

          The draft, held this year in Las Vegas, starts at 8 p.m. on Thursday, resumes at 7 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday. There is a 10-minute period between picks in the first round, seven in the second, five in the third and beyond.

          It will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network.

          Jacksonville, Detroit, Houston, the New York Jets and New York Giants have the first five picks.

          The last Central Georgian who played at Georgia and was drafted was Houston County’s Trey Hill, picked in the sixth round last year by Cincinnati.

          Walker won’t be the first area player to go in the first round, though, not by a long shot.

          Macon County’s Roquan Smith followed his stellar career at Georgia by going eighth in 2018 to Chicago.

          Leonard Floyd of Dodge County was the ninth pick of the 2015 event, by Chicago.

          Kareem Jackson of Westside went 20th to Houston in the 2010 draft, four spots better then Darqueze Dennard of Twiggs County four years later to Cincinnati. The late Demaryius Thomas of West Laurens gave Central Georgia two first-round picks in 2010, going 12 slots after Jackson.

          Bud Dupree of Wilkinson County was tapped by Pittsburgh with the 22nd pick in 2015.

          Casey Hayward of Perry went in the second round of the 2012 draft, to Green Bay, and Northside’s Stephen Nelson was picked in the 2015 third round, among Central Georgia’s draft picks.

          Dating back a little: Washington County’s Takeo Spikes was picked 13th in 1998 by Cincinnati. Mary Persons’ Alvin Toles went 24th overall to New Orleans in 1985. Washington County’s Robert Edwards, the Golden Hawks’ new head coach, was 18th in 1998 by New England.

          Fort Valley State’s Tyrone Poole was the 22nd pick in 1995. And NFL Hall of Famer Jim Parker, who grew up in Macon and played at Ballard-Hudson before transferring his final two years, went eighth in 1957.

          John Milledge’s Harrison Bryant, Houston County’s Jake Fromm, and Stratford’s Quintez Cephus all went in the 2020 draft, breaking a dry spell.

          How many Central Georgia prospects get called during the three-day event is debatable, but Walker may be it.

          The NFL Draft Tracker lists hundreds of prospects, by name and position and school, and doesn’t have the primary candidates – other than Walker – on their lists, though many of the other scores of sites covering the draft have area players going somewhere.

          Jason Poe, a Fitzgerald grad who started out at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College and then Division II Lenoir-Rhyne before finishing at Mercer, has gotten some attention. The 6-1, 300-pounder had a good pro day that put him on lists, and not just on the offensive line.

          At fullback, too. That’s where he played in junior college. Poe was the South Atlantic Conference’s top blocker in 2018 and 2019, earning a pair of Division II All-America nods.

          Poe is listed as a sixth- or seven-round prospect, but will be a quick free-agent signing if not picked.

          Peach County alum Quez Jackson departed Georgia Tech with a year of eligibility left, and is a final-day prospect.

          He led the Jackets with 103 tackles in 2021, and was second in tackles for loss.

          Jackson started 26 of 47 games, starting 21 of 22 the past two seasons. He had 128 solo tackles and 119 assists in four seasons, with 17.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

          At 6-0, 220 pounds, Jackson is a little short for a prototype linebacker, but that may not matter, especially in a draft that includes Georgia’s Nakobe Dean who is listed at 5-11 and 229 pounds.

          Northside grad Tobias Oliver ended his transaction-filled Georgia Tech career early – he had already graduated as an underclassman – and declared, but is unlikely to be picked.

          Oliver went to Tech as a quarterback under then-head coach Paul Johnson, who retired at the end of Oliver’s redshirt freshman year.

          Upon the arrival of Geoff Collins, Oliver was eventually moved to wide receiver during the 2019 season, and then cornerback, while also playing on special teams. He ran for 215 yards on 40 carries in a game in 2018 against Virginia Tech.

          He played in 10 games in 2021, all on defense, recording 12 tackles and a pass defended. The pandemic eliminated his chances to work with teammates during the offseason between 2019 and 2020, slowing his progress.

          He played in 43 games at Tech, starting nine. He rushed 207 times for 1,155 yards and 14 touchdowns in nearly two seasons on offense, completing 18 of 42 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns.

          Northside grad Tae Daley left Virginia Tech early to enter the draft. He signed with Vanderbilt and transferred to Virginia Tech, playing one season and finishing fifth on the Hokies with 73 tackles in 13 games.

          Wide receiver Shermar Bridges is a long-shot from Fort Valley State who is likely to get attention as a free agent.