David Walker
Co-Captain
5-9, 213, RB
Rochester, NY
Irondequoit H.S.
At SU: three letters…started three years at tailback…had started 35 games in his career…fourth leading rusher in Syracuse history with 2634, training only Floyd Little, Larry Csonka and all-time leader Joe Morris…averaged 5.3 yards per carry for his career, 6th best in SU history…12th SU
player to top 3000 all-purpose yards (3034)...six 100-yard rushing games tie him for 7th on the SU career list…Orange were 15-0-1 when Walker rushed for over 75 yards during his career…moved to tailback from fullback before his sophomore season to replace 1000-yard rusher Michael Owens…lacked great speed, but made up for it with strength, balance and sheer determination…was extremely difficult to bring down…redshirted in 1988…
Senior year: started all 12 games and earned second ALL-BIG EAST honors…led the Orange in rushing for third straight season with 855 yards…finished 3rd in the BIG EAST…also ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in all-purpose yards (9th) and total offense (12th)…season-high 114 yards vs. Pittsburgh, his third straight 100 yard game vs. the Panthers…had 99 yards vs. Boston College and 95 vs. East Carolina…totaled 1,018 all-purpose yards to top the 1,000 mark for the second straight year…4th on the team with 17 receptions and had five multi-catch games…
Junior year: a unanimous choice to the ALL-BIG EAST Conference team, started all 12 games…led the BIG EAST in rushing with 969 yards, despite sharing the tailback duties with Terry Richardson…averaged 5.7 yards per carry, the best average in the conference for a back with over 100 carries…had the 9th best rushing total in SU history…surpassing those of former Heisman Trophy winter Ernie Davis and former AFL rushing champ Jim Nance…rushed for over 100 yards in four of the last five games of the season…rushed for 138 yards and four touchdowns vs. Pittsburgh, joining Jim Brown and Floyd Little as the only SU players to rush for at least four TDs in a game…finished the regular season with 126 yards vs. Temple, a career-high 148 vs. Boston College and 118 yards vs. West Virginia to become just the 7th SU back to top 100 yards in three straight games…given the game ball by the captains for the Pitt game and earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the week honors vs. Pitt and West Virginia…also was ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in all-purpose yards (4th), scoring (7th) and total offense (9th)…topped the 1,000 mark with 1,072 all-purpose yards…finished 4th on the team in receiving with 16 catches for 103 yards…caught a pass in eight games, with five multi-catch games…top receiving game of three catches for 33 yards and a TD vs. Maryland
Sophomore year: started all 11 games…considered a possible weak link in the beginning of the season, but became just the 5th SU back to rush for over 700 yards since 1980…gained 730 yards on 150 carries for a 4.7 average and led the team with 7 TDs (6 rushing)…SU season-high 134 yards vs. Pittsburgh…gained 86 yards vs. Michigan State and Rutgers…also caught 11 passes for 118 yards and had a 30-yard TD catch vs. USC…completed 3 of 3 passes off the halfback option for 104 yards and two touchdowns…threw a 43-yard TD pass to Shelby Hill vs. Vanderbilt, a 19-yard TD to Chris Gedney vs. Boston College and a 42-yard completion to Kerry Ferrell vs. Temple…quick-kicked two punts for a 42.0 yard average, including a long of 52 yards…
Freshman year: primary backup to Duane Kinnon at fullback…played in all 12 games…rushed for 89 yards on 16 carries, a 5.6 average and two TDs…season-high 35 yards and a TD on five carries vs. Temple…
32 yards and a TD on seven carries vs. Navy… selected Scout Team Player of the Week for Penn State during his redshirt freshman year…
High School: team captain…two-time Player of the Year for Coach Rich Kaplun…1987 Section V champions…four time All-County…All-State…played in the 1987 Eddie Meath All-Star Game…captain of the football and basketball teams…basketball letterman…
Personal: David Lee Walker…born December 4, 1969, Rochester, N.Y….son of Ike and Mary Walker…one brother, one sister…father played baseball in the New York Mets organization…brother Dennis played junior college baseball…majored in education.
Carries Yards Avg. TDs
1989 16 89 5.6 2
1990 150 730 4.7 6
1991 169 969 5.7 7
1992 168 855 5.1 2
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Total 503 2643 5.3 17
Recpt. Yards Avg. TDs
1989 0 0 0.0 0
1990 11 118 10.7 1
1991 16 103 6.4 1
1992 17 163 9.6 1
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Total 44 384 8.7 3
