"I do feel like I would've gone earlier," Walker said. "But at the same time I really don't have control over all those things. I know I did things the best of my ability and I couldn't really ask for anything more. That's why I don't regret anything."
Hamilton said at the start of camp that a draftee's practice time essentially is predicated on where the team picks him. Walker, happy that he is finally 100 percent healthy, is working out with the third team.
But once preseason games begin, players can earn more practice time depending on how they play.
"What happens to guys, especially younger guys, is you teach them a lot of things in camp, technique-wise and stuff like that, and sometimes a younger guy when he gets in the game he reverts to just pushing and stuff like that," Hamilton said. "So we want to see a guy get in the game and do the techniques we've been talking about and we've been teaching.
"The younger guys who get in the game and do that stuff, who try the techniques, those are the guys who catch our eye. He seems to be a pretty good technique guy so we'll see how he does in the game on Saturday night."
Georgia Tech's Giff Smith saw Walker just before the Falcons started camp. He said Walker was excited about the opportunity with the Falcons and is bullish on his former player's chances.
He said Walker only needs one thing to succeed in the NFL.
"Opportunity," he said, "in my honest opinion. Given a fair opportunity I think he'll make the team and keep progressing. I think him going in the seventh-round is a steal. Being from Atlanta myself, I'm excited that the Falcons got him."
Day 10 -- Monday, Aug. 10, 2009
8:30 a.m./3:45 p.m. Practice@FalconsJMoore "Words of the Day"
TRANSCRIPT:Head Coach Mike Smith briefs the media after practice * BLOGS:J. Michael Moore's blog posts from Aug. 10, 2009 * FEATURE:Walker looks to make most of opportunities * VIDEO:Head Coach Mike Smith | White | Booker * PHOTOS:Images from Day 10 at training camp (Flickr)
