Jan. 19, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. - The UCF football program led Conference USA in 2008 with 13 alumni named to National Football League opening day rosters. That number grew to 14 in November when the Detroit Lions signed former Knight quarterback Daunte Culpepper and 15 in December when the New York Giants added defensive tackle Leger Douzable to their squad. Today we look at Mike Walker.
Walker saw his first NFL action this past fall as a wide receiver. Drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft, Walker missed the entire 2007 season with a knee injury suffered during the Jaguars' final preseason game. He was ready to go in 2008, starting the preseason opener for Jacksonville against Atlanta, catching two passes in a Jaguar win.
Walker went on to appear in nine games for Jacksonville in 2008. He started to hit his stride in Week five when he caught five passes for 46 yards in a win over the Houston Texans. The following week against Pittsburgh, Walker had career highs with six catches and 107 receiving yards. After tweaking his knee and missing four games, Walker returned to the Jacksonville lineup as a starter in a Nov. 16 loss to Tennessee, making a pair of catches in that contest. In all, Walker caught 16 passes this year for 217 yards in his nine games of action with one start.
A first-team All-Conference USA pick as a senior in 2006, and a second-team selection in 2005, Walker is third in UCF history with 2,561 career receiving yards and fourth with 184 catches.
Tomorrow we will look at another former UCF wide receiver, Brandon Marshall, who enjoyed a Pro Bowl season for the Denver Broncos.