Phillip Walker (American football)

Last updated

Phillip Walker
Carolina Panthers
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1995-02-26) February 26, 1995 (age 25)
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:214 lb (97 kg)
Career information
High school: Elizabeth
(Elizabeth, New Jersey)
College: Temple
Undrafted: 2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Phillip "P.J." Walker Jr. (born February 26, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He played college football at Temple.

Contents

Early years

Walker was born in 1995 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to parents Tamicha Drake and Phillip Walker Sr. Walker attended Elizabeth High School. During his junior year, Walker threw for 2,168 yards and 18 touchdowns, while going 120-of-189 (63.5 percent) in passing percentage. Following the completion of his high school career, Walker chose to attend Temple University, under head coach Matt Rhule. [1]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeight40‡Commit date
P.J. Walker
QB 		Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)216 lb (98 kg)4.74 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: 2 stars.svg     Rivals: 2 stars.svg     247Sports: 3 stars.svg    ESPN grade: 77
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • . Rivals.com http://temple.rivals.com/commitments/football/2013.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com.
  • "2013 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

    College career

    After accepting an athletic scholarship to attend Temple University, Walker played for coach Matt Rhule's Temple Owls team from 2013 to 2016.

    2013 season

    Walker began his collegiate career as a backup to Connor Reilly. Walker would eventually earn the starting spot at quarterback in week 6 against Cincinnati, where he would throw his first collegiate touchdown. [2] Walker obtained his first win of his career in week 7 against Army, by a score of 33-14. [3] He would receive his first collegiate weekly award (QB of the week - CFPA - honorable mention) following a 59-49 loss to SMU in week 9. [4] In the final week of the season, Walker earned American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week and was a finalist for the Manning Award. [5] Walker would finish his freshman year having started 7 out of 12 games.

    2014 season

    Walker's sophomore season did not include as many highlights as his 2013 debut performance; however, Walker did earn career-high completions (29) and pass attempts (49) in a losing effort against Navy in Week 2. [6] Walker was able to secure three honorable mentions during the season (Weeks 1, 2 and 4) and passed for at least 1 touchdown in his first seven games.

    2015 season

    Walker would start every game in his junior year, becoming only the third person to do so in Owl history. In a rare feat, Walker would both throw for and receive a pass in two, two-point conversion attempts, in Week 8, in a winning effort against UCF. [7] Walker would lead the Owls to a 10-4 overall record (7-1 in conference play), earning a bid to the Boca Raton Bowl in losing effort against the Toledo Rockets by a score of 17-32. He finished the season with a school record 2,972 passing yards and tied the record for total offense (rushing and passing) with 3,179 yards.

    2016 season

    Walker's final year at Temple was a record-setting season for the senior. In the season opener against Army, Walker became Temple's all-time passing yards leader (10,273 yards). [8] Walker would again lead the Owls to a bowl game at the end of the season, following a 10-4 overall record (7-1 in conference); Walker and the Owls would lose the Military Bowl 26-34 against Wake Forest. Additionally, Walker would receive numerous honors, accolades and watch-list nominations in the 2016 season, including American Athletic Conference Championship Game Most Outstanding Player, CFPA National Player of the Year Watch List, Davey O'Brien Award Watch List, as well as multiple preseason and conference recognitions. [9]

    Collegiate records

    As of June 2017, Walker is the Owls all-time leader in wins by a starting quarterback (28), passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts, total yards and total touchdowns. Walker lead the Owls to their first conference title in 49 years (2016) and their first ever back-to-back bowl appearances in school history (2015 and 2016).

    Statistics

    YearTeamPassingRushing
    CmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
    2013 Temple 15225060.82,0848.3208150.8903323.73
    2014 Temple 20338153.32,3176.11315107.81063243.13
    2015 Temple 24543256.72,9726.9198125.3802152.72
    2016 Temple 23039558.23,2958.32213140.165-100-1.51
    Career8301,45856.910,6687.37444129.13417712.39

    Source: [10]

    Professional career

    Walker was rated the 32nd best quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com. [11]

    Pre-draft measurables
    HeightWeight 40-yard dash 10-yd split20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad
    5 ft 11 in
    (1.80 m)    		214 lb
    (97 kg)    		4.74 s2.72 s1.56 s4.40 s6.90 s29 1⁄2 in
    (0.75 m)    		9 ft 3 in
    (2.82 m)
    All values from Temple Pro Day [11]

    Indianapolis Colts

    On May 3, 2017, Walker was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent. [12] He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Colts' practice squad the next day. [13] [14] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 1, 2018. [15]

    On September 1, 2018, Walker was waived by the Colts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. [16] [17] He spent time on and off the Colts practice squad before being released on December 26, 2018, but was re-signed three days later. [18] [19] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 13, 2019. [20]

    On August 31, 2019, Walker was waived by the Colts and signed to the practice squad the next day, only to be released two days later. [21] [22]

    Houston Roughnecks

    In October 2019, Walker was drafted by the newly-formed XFL for the 2020 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers called the XFL office to ask if they could sign Walker for one week ahead of their matchup with the Baltimore Ravens in October 2019, as Walker was a similar player to Ravens starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. The XFL blocked the signing, as Walker was already under contract with the league. [23] Before the 2020 XFL Draft on October 15, 2019, he was allocated to the Houston Roughnecks. [24]

    In the Roughnecks first game against the Los Angeles Wildcats, Walker tossed four touchdowns, helping the team win a 37–17 victory against the Wildcats. [25] He was named the league's first ever Star of the Week for his performance. [26] After the week five game against the Seattle Dragons, Walker had 1,338 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. [27]

    On March 20, 2020, the 2020 XFL season was canceled following growing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Walker finished the 2020 season with a 5-0 record, 1,338 passing yards and 15 touchdowns with four interceptions. He lead the league in both passing touchdowns and passing yards. [28]

    Carolina Panthers

    On March 23, Walker signed with the Carolina Panthers, reuniting him with head coach Matt Rhule. [29]

    Professional statistics

    Regular season statistics

    YearLeagueTeamGamesPassingRushing
    GPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
    2020 XFL HOU 555–011918465.01,3387.3154104.424994.11

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    References

    1. ↑ "Elizabeth's Walker, Blair's Pretlow commit to Temple". NJ.com. June 22, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    2. ↑ "Temple vs Cincinnati - Box Score". Temple University. 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    3. ↑ "Army vs Temple - Box Score". Temple University. 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    4. ↑ "QB of the week - CFPA - honorable mention". CollegeFootballPerformanc.com. 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    5. ↑ "Manning Award Stars of the Week, 2013". AllStateSugarBowl.org. 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    6. ↑ "Army vs. Temple - Box Score". Temple University. 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    7. ↑ "Temple vs. UCF - Box Score". Temple University. 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    8. ↑ "Army vs. Temple - Box Score". Temple University. 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
    9. ↑ "Phillip Walker - Temple Bio". Temple University. 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
    10. ↑ "P.J. Walker". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    11. 1 2 "Phillip Walker". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    12. ↑ Bowen, Kevin (May 4, 2017). "Who Are The Colts 18 Undrafted Free Agents In 2017?". Colts.com. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
    13. ↑ Walker, Andrew (September 2, 2017). "Colts Announce Final 2017 Roster Cuts". Colts.com.
    14. ↑ Walker, Andrew (September 3, 2017). "Colts Add Seven To Initial 2017 Practice Squad". Colts.com.
    15. ↑ "Colts Sign Eight Players To Reserve/Future Contracts". Colts.com. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018.
    16. ↑ Walker, Andrew (September 1, 2018). "Colts Announce Final 2018 Roster Cuts". Colts.com.
    17. ↑ Walker, Andrew (September 2, 2018). "Colts Sign Five To Practice Squad". Colts.com.
    18. ↑ "Roster Moves: Colts Bring Back TE Erik Swoope To Practice Squad". Colts.com. December 26, 2018.
    19. ↑ "Roster Moves: Colts Promote CB Jalen Collins To Active Roster; Sign QB Phillip Walker To Practice Squad". Colts.com. December 29, 2018.
    20. ↑ Hickey, Kevin (January 13, 2019). "Colts sign 9 players to futures contracts". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
    21. ↑ Walker, Andrew (August 31, 2019). "Colts Announce Final 2019 Roster Cuts". Colts.com.
    22. ↑ Gantt, Darin (September 1, 2019). "Colts bring back Phillip Walker to practice squad". NBC Sports . Retrieved September 1, 2019.
    23. ↑ Bassinger, Thomas (December 11, 2019). "XFL Q&A: Oliver Luck on lessons learned, Colin Kaepernick and sports betting". TampaBay.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
    24. ↑ Florio, Mike (October 15, 2019). "XFL announces its eight allocated quarterbacks". Profootballtalk.com . Retrieved October 22, 2019.
    25. ↑ "Defenders, Roughnecks earn first wins of XFL season". NFL.com. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
    26. ↑ "Walker named Star of the Week for Week 1". www.xfl.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
    27. ↑ "PJ Walker XFL Stats". stats.xfl.com. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
    28. ↑ Payne, Scotty (March 21, 2020). "Report: Broncos are interested in XFL star quarterback P.J. Walker". Mile High Report. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
    29. ↑ https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28942400/xfl-star-qb-pj-walker-sign-panthers
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