‘King of the One-Liners’ Jonaz Walton ready to lift Central football

For all the things Jonaz Walton can do on Central High School’s football field, the Notre Dame commit said he’s happiest in another arena on campus.

“I love the weight room,” Walton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That’s probably my favorite part about being an athlete, is working out. So, I mean, I get drenched for the love of it.”

Walton, a 2025 AJC Super 11 selection, was born to love the weight room — literally. His father, William Walton, is a former power lifter and a strength coach for Central’s middle school and high school athletes.

That lineage, combined with younger brother Jacez also in the running back room, creates plenty of reason to love the work. It’s a craft for Walton, something that Central coach Umbrah Brown says he takes incredible pride in.

“He’s an all-out type of kid in the weight room,” Brown said. “Physically, just seeing him develop, get faster, get stronger, get a little bit bigger, put on a little bit of weight.”

That strength was one of the first things Brown noticed about his 4-star running back before meeting him.

Brown started watching Walton’s film before he took the Central job in 2023. The head coach immediately noted Walton’s explosiveness and vision, perhaps the two most important traits a running back can possess.

Brown would have watched film from Walton’s freshman season, where the statistics were impressive enough without seeing a single play. Walton rushed for 1,644 yards and 20 touchdowns on 187 attempts, according to MaxPreps.

The 5-10, 205-pounder has added another 3,988 yards of total offense and 41 more touchdowns in the past two seasons.

But both Brown and Walton said the biggest way the rising senior has grown since his freshman year is in his confidence, both as a player and as a person.

“I’ve had offers since my freshman year, but I wasn’t ever as confident,” Walton said. “I always thought some people were better than me, but now coming to this year and last year, I kind of feel like I am the best player. Like, I say it, and I believe it now.”

Brown insisted that Walton’s confidence extends beyond football, too. Walton still isn’t extremely vocal, but he has grown to show enough personality for Brown to dub him “King of the One-Liners.”

Brown shared one story from last season as an example. He had posted Central’s travel roster on the locker room door before an away game, detailing which players were going with the team and which wouldn’t dress out.

Backup players were crowded around the roster, curious if they had made the cut, when Walton walked by the door without a glance.

“He just walks by, simply says, ‘If you’re checking the list, you’re probably not on it,’ just in a very calm, sarcastic way,” Brown said. “Just kind of in passing, and man, I just busted out laughing, because it’s true.

“It’s just those types of things that he’ll throw out every blue moon and it’s like, man, this dude’s kind of funny.”

For all that added confidence, Walton is glad to say he’s kept his humble personality. He wants to be remembered for that in Carrollton more than anything he accomplished on the field over his four-year career.

“I mean, honestly, I just want them to remember me as a humble person that always did what he was supposed to do,” Walton said. “Just a nice kid who you could talk to, not even about being maybe the best football player, just being humble and being a great person.”

Walton does have his football goals, though. He wants to stay healthy throughout the year and improve on a major statistic from last season.

“I don’t want any major or minor injuries, but stat-wise, I definitely want to get back over 2,300 all-purpose yards like I did last year,” Walton said. “If I can hit that again, I think I’ll be pretty happy.”

It’s telling that Walton chose all-purpose yards as his goal. Most of his production has come on the ground, but he’s also proven to be a weapon in the pass game and as a punt and kick returner.

Walton is guaranteed only 10 more games to reach that goal, starting with a trip to Spalding on Aug. 15. But Georgia’s highest-ranked running back hopes to be remembered for his impact off the field for much longer than that.