While he may be the youngest of four children, Oswego’s Christian Walsh isn’t exactly the little brother in his family anymore. The junior linebacker has legitimately outgrown that label.
Christian Walsh checks in at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, but let’s give older brother Jake, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior cornerback for the Panthers, a chance to clear up the situation.
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“In seventh grade, Christian just shot up,” Jake said, shaking his head at the memory. “It got crazy. He gained a lot of weight, too. I’m 170, but he’s a big boy.”
Christian Walsh will tell you, though, it wasn’t because Jake was a picky eater piling extra helpings on his younger brother’s plate when their parents, Ryan and Melissa, weren’t looking.
“My dad makes us the same protein shakes,” Christian said. “It’s just genetics, basically. Jake was a lot bigger than me when we were young.”
Walsh’s growth has made a difference in his first full varsity season for Oswego (4-1, 1-1).
Senior middle linebacker Caden Cooney, the middle son of the Panthers’ head coach, leads Oswego with 40 tackles but Christian Walsh is right behind with 38. Jake Walsh is tied with senior defensive lineman Ethan Pilip for the team lead with four tackles for loss.
Jake Walsh ranks fourth with 22 tackles and leads the Panthers with four pass breakups. Cam Loghmani, a senior, starts at the other outside linebacker spot and has 21 tackles.
“I always know, Caden and Cam will have as much as me or even more,” Christian Walsh said of the tackle totals. “Because they’re great athletes, too.”
Both Walsh brothers also have outgrown their sibling rivalry.
“As kids, we fought an awful lot but that was us just being kids,” Christian said. “Nowadays, we’re really close. I think it helps us when we’re on the field. Since we both play defense, we’re always on the same page.”
Football is prominent among many of their family ties. Their dad was a strong safety and high school teammate of Oswego coach Brian Cooney, who played linebacker on the school’s 1992 state championship team. Both then played football at Aurora University.
Mark Walsh, their grandfather, coached both football and baseball and was athletic director at AU. Their older brother Tyler, who is 30 and has started his own family, was a running back at Oswego and played in college at Carthage. Older sister Madison, 23, is in law school.
Jake doesn’t remember much about his older brother’s playing career, however.
“I think it’s a blessing being the youngest,” Christian said. “I could learn from their mistakes and I always have great advice from them.”
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Both Christian and Jake are looking to play at the next level like their father did. Jake has roster spot offers from NCAA Division III North Central College and Wisconsin-Platteville.
“Both the Walsh kids have skill sets, have things they’re working on and in some ways are very similar but in some ways they’re unique,” Brian Cooney said.
Their father started them in Oswego Youth Tackle in grade school, but they haven’t been on the same team since Jake started high school except when Christian was promoted to varsity with several other sophomores for last season’s playoff run to the Class 8A state championship game.
“I’ve had some hiccups,” Christian Walsh said. “But practicing last fall and getting to play on some of the special teams in the playoffs helped prepare me for the speed of the game.
“I was already up to a good size, but speed is the name of the game. I definitely knew what it was.”
As might be expected, the Walsh brothers work well together, according to their coach.
“It’s a fun little tandem,” Brian Cooney said. “A couple times they’ve been on the weak side, Christian along with his brother have made tackles together, made plays together and communicated to each other.
“Unfortunately, they only get one year playing together, but they’re making the most of it.”