Many players talk about doing everything they can for their team. Senior Jonathan Walker Jr. has taken that to heart during his career at Iowa High School.

Last year he played running back, wide receiver, cornerback, safety and returned punts and kickoffs. He led the Yellow Jackets in kick (238) and punt return yards (160) and was third on the team in rushing (560) and receiving (289). He also spot-played in the defensive secondary in certain situations. He led the team with 1,254 all-purpose yards, scored seven touchdowns, and earned all-district first-team honors as a kick returner and second team as a receiver.

Walker says he draws inspiration and guidance from his father, Jonathan Walker Sr., who was a first-team all-district quarterback and defensive back for Washington-Marion in 2002. He went on to play defensive back at McNeese State and earned all-conference honors three times from 2004 to ’07.

“He kind of did the same things I do, play all over the field,” Walker said of his father. “Knowing ball and watching ball, he is a big help and talking about the game with me. He is at every game.

“When there are camps or extra training, he is out there teaching me tips and tricks of the game. Any camp I want to go to or anything I need he is always there.”

He said it is always a “constant debate” whether he is better than his father was.

With several key players lost to graduation from Iowa’s Nonselect Division II quarterfinal team, Walker will pick up the slack and start full-time on both sides of the ball this season.

“It is the most excited I have been for a football season in my high school career,” Walker said. “I am willing to do whatever I have to do to win.

“If I have to get on the offensive or defensive line, I will do it.”

Walker has been working harder outside practice and binging game film to prepare for his final season.

“Playing all those positions, you have to be in shape,” Walker said. “(I get) extra conditioning after practice when everybody else is going in.

“You really don’t have time to practice every single position at practice, so it is getting extra practice in on your own to make sure you are still sharp at those positions. I have been watching film, but not just specifically those positions. Because I play so many positions, just watching football in general and how it is all different, how there are different tempos to the game and how to adapt to the situations and be aware.

“That is what is going to help me, knowing things that can happen that way I can save energy to play those other positions. I know how the play is going to develop before it develops, if that makes sense.”

Head coach Tommy Johns says Walker is unique, making him essential to the Yellow Jackets’ game plans.

“I think that people like that, that have a unique skill set like he does not only his physical skill set but mentally, that can do it at a high level and know what they are doing, there are not many players like that, especially in high school,” Johns said. “They have a lot of two-way players but not all of them are as effective.

“He knows what to do and understands the game. He embraces that role. That is what I like about him. Not everybody is built that way, especially in today’s game.”

Iowa had two Swiss Army knives, as Johns described it, on offense last year: Cole Corbello and Walker. But Corbello graduated, putting a bigger load on Walker’s shoulders. While not as big as Corbello (6-3, 205 pounds), Johns is confident he can get the same results from the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Walker.

“We did it with Cole (Corbello),” Johns said. “We did it with Ronald Young the year before that. We even did it with Jonathan last year.

“We are going to do the same thing this year as well. With Cole back there, we had a bigger body. He could go ahead and throw it if he needed to. He could also run great routes and catch the ball.

“It is the same thing that Jonathan will be able to do this year. He is not the big body that Cole was. The skill sets are different, but we are trying to accomplish the same thing. He is put together. He is thick. He works out every day. He is doing something every day to make himself better. That to me is probably his most impressive quality. He is going to be successful no matter what he chooses to do.”