Christopher Walking

He grew up in Frederick, Maryland, as one of 13 kids. As a high school sophomore he intercepted 13 passes, which led the entire state. TONIGHT he plays a professional football game about 50 miles from the house he grew up in. His name is Jalen Huskey. He is a rookie safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and on Thursday night they are in Baltimore. He started at Middletown High School and got to a state championship game. Then he transferred to Quince Orchard in Gaithersburg, and that team went 14-0 and won one. Three stars. Bowling Green took him. As a freshman he was a backup with seven tackles. The next season he started all 12 games, intercepted four passes, finished 19th in the country, and made first team All-MAC. Then he transferred to Maryland, where they moved him from cornerback to safety. In 2025 he was a team captain and Maryland's Defensive Player of the Year, with 72 tackles and four more interceptions. Twenty nine interceptions, counting high school. "The whole time, people were saying sixth or seventh round pick," he said. "I knew that wasn't the case." Jacksonville took him with the last pick of the third round, 100th overall. About 16 people were at the party back in Frederick. "I am super excited. I can't even put it into words. It still doesn't feel real. I am just so happy." He wears number 22. He wore it at Maryland too, and he will tell you why if you ask him. On February 22, 2022, he lost his sister. Her name was Keira Lyle. "I want everyone to know why I wear 22," he said. "It allows me to keep her legacy going, keep her name alive and allows me to share her story." "When you lose a sibling, it takes a really big toll on every single person in the family. I think we definitely all came together, though, and it was something that helped bring our family a lot closer." Maryland wrote a feature on him once and titled it The Builder. That is on account of the LEGO. "Just like LEGO, you have to take the season one brick at a time," he said. "I'm just a really laid-back guy. I love my LEGOs, I love football and I love Maryland." He started playing football when he was four years old. He still FaceTimes his parents before every game. He was inactive for five of Jacksonville's first six games this season. On Sunday, in the second NFL game of his life, he got his first career tackles and his first career sack. So tonight he is in Baltimore, 50 miles up the road from Frederick, one of 13 kids, in his rookie year, with his sister's date across his back.