David Walker (quarterback)
No. 8 | |
Date of birth | December 24, 1955 |
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Place of birth | Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. |
Career information | |
Position(s) | Quarterback |
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
US college | Texas A&M |
Career history | |
As player | |
1973–74,1976–77 | Texas A&M |
Career highlights and awards | |
Awards | U.P.I. SWC Freshman of the Year (1973) |
Honors | Louisiana Class 4A All-State Quarterback (1972); Class 4A Outstanding Offensive Player; Inductee into the Inaugural Sulphur High School Centennial Hall of Fame (2013) |
David Walker (born December 24, 1955) is a former left-handed American football quarterback who played for Texas A&M University in the mid-1970s.
Early years
Walker was Louisiana's 1972 all-state quarterback and the state's outstanding offensive player while playing for Sulphur High School in Sulphur, Louisiana, where he was tagged with his nickname, "Moon".[1]
Texas A&M
In 1973, at age 17, Walker became the youngest-ever college quarterback.[1][2] In Walker's first start of his freshman season, Texas A&M defeated the TCU Horned Frogs, 35–16. The victory broke a four-game losing streak against the Frogs and was the first of 24 straight the Aggies have won in the series. The Aggies finished the season as the third-highest-scoring team in A&M history, and Walker was named the U.P.I. Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year.
Walker was the quarterback his sophomore season in 1974 and led A&M through an 8-3 campaign, A&M's first winning season since the victorious Cotton Bowl team of 1967. Their 21-14 win against the 5th ranked LSU Tigers, the Aggies' second in 15 tries at LSU's
Walker was replaced by Texas All-Stater David Shipman during the 1975 season and did not play. The Aggies rose to #2 and the country's top-ranked defense before ending the season with one-sided losses to Arkansas and Liberty Bowl opponent Southern California.
In 1976, he regained the starting QB job for the final six games, all lop-sided victories, including the first win in 20 years on the University of Texas campus in a decisive 27-3 victory in Darryl Royal's final A&M game as UT's head coach. Walker capped off the season by leading the Aggies to a 37-14 victory over Florida in the Sun Bowl, applying the finishing touches to A&M's second consecutive 10 win season, a first in A&M history and a feat accomplished only 3 times since. In the game Walker was 11 of 18 for 122 yards, including a touchdown pass to fullback George Woodard. Walker also scored in the 2nd quarter on a 9-yard keeper. The Sporting News ranked Texas A&M #3 and the A.P. had them 7th in the country following the season. It would be 1985 before the Aggies would be ranked again in a final poll.
Walker led Texas A&M to a 37-14 Sun Bowl victory over Florida to cap off the 1976 season and had the Aggies ranked No. 5 in the AP poll after a 33-17 win over No. 7 Texas Tech in 1977.
Walker set a Texas A&M single-game for rushing yards by a quarterback when he carried 27 times for 182 yards in a come-from-behind 38-21 win against
Walker was injured for a game against TCU in the 1977 season, but returned for the final regular season games against top-ranked Texas and the University of Houston to complete the 8-3 season. He then sat out the 47-28 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl loss to USC until the final minutes.
Later years
In 2011, Walker published a memoir, I'll Tell You When You're Good!: The Memoir of America's Youngest College Quarterback, recounting the difficulties of his college football career.[4]
In 2012, he was rated among the top ten quarterbacks in Texas A&M history.[5]
Walker was one of 13 former students inducted into the Sulphur High School Centennial Hall of Fame on April 20, 2013.[6]
Walker began writing a weekly column called "QB1 Film Room" for TheRebelWalk.com, an online media outlet covering Ole Miss Sports.[7]
References
- ^ a b Roy Bragg (September 13, 2015). "Walker's A&M dream became a nightmare". San Antonio Express-News.
- ^ "Dallas A&M Club". www.dallasaggies.org.
- ^ Jackie Welch (August 21, 2015). "Walker guest speaker at Bay Area A&M Club meeting". Houston Chronicle.
- ISBN 978-1463406738.
- ^ James Sullivan (April 6, 2012). "Texas A&M; Football: 10 Best Quarterbacks in School History". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07.
- ^ "Former Aggie QB David Walker visits with HottyToddy.com". Gig 'Em Gazette. October 5, 2013.
- ^ "David Walker, Author at The Rebel Walk". The Rebel Walk. Retrieved 2021-09-30.