Kenneth Walker III (wide receiver)

Kenneth Walker III (born April 1, 1994) is an American football wide receiver. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins from 2012 to 2016. He was also a sprinter on the UCLA track and field team. Walker played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2019 and for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL) in 2022.

For the running back, see Kenneth Walker III (running back).
Kenneth Walker III
Personal information
Born: (1994-04-01) April 1, 1994
Stockton, California, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school:John F. Kennedy (Richmond, California)
College:UCLA
Position:Wide receiver
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Walker was born in Stockton, California, to Patricia Jones and Kenneth Walker II.[1][2][3] He grew in the East Bay in the dangerous Iron Triangle neighborhood of Richmond.[2][4] His parents separated when he was in the seventh grade, and his mom raised Walker and his two older brothers as a single parent. In an attempt to keep her youngest out of trouble, she sent him to live in Oakley with his father, who had remarried. There, Walker excelled in both track and football at Freedom High School.[2][4]

After Walker's sophomore year, his father divorced, and they moved back to Richmond with his mother.[4] At Richmond's John F. Kennedy High School, he won three Junior Olympics titles in the hurdles and became an excellent student and a top-rated high school football player.[1][4] He received playing time in high school as a running back, receiver, punter, kick returner and quarterback.[1]

According to ESPN, Walker received more than 12 scholarship offers to play college football.[5] He orally committed in August 2011 to the University of California, Berkeley.[5] However, he began to reconsider after Cal receivers coach Eric Kiesau left the school. In February 2012, Walker switched his commitment to the University of California, Los Angeles.[6]

College athletics

Walker enrolled at UCLA in 2012 and played at the wide receiver position for the Bruins football team.[7][8][9][10][11] He appeared in 12 games as a true freshman in 2012, missed the 2013 season with a back injury, and appeared in nine games in 2014, 13 games in 2015, and 11 games in 2016.[1][12] He started nine games for UCLA in 2015 and seven in 2016.[1] Walker had two 100-yard receiving games during the 2016 season: 115 yards and a touchdown on six receptions against Texas A&M on September 3;[13] and 114 yards and two touchdowns on two receptions against Arizona on October 1.[14]

Walker also competed as a sprinter for the UCLA track team.[7]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 9+3⁄8 in
(1.76 m)		 188 lb
(85 kg)		 30+1⁄2 in
(0.77 m)		 8+3⁄8 in
(0.21 m)		4.30 s1.50 s2.53 s4.40 s7.28 s32.0 in
(0.81 m)		9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)		19 reps
All values from Pro Day[15]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Walker was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft.[16] He was waived on August 14, 2017.[17]

Arizona Hotshots

In 2018, Walker signed with the Arizona Hotshots for the inaugural 2019 season of the Alliance of American Football (AAF),[18] but was waived in January 2019 as part of the final roster cuts before the season opener.[19]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Walker signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL) on March 18, 2019. He was released during final roster cuts on June 9, but was re-signed to the team's practice roster the same day. Walker was promoted to the active roster on July 18 to replace injured kick returner Charles Nelson.[20] In his first CFL game in Week 6, he returned nine punts for 97 yards and one kickoff for 26 against the Ottawa Redblacks.[21] In the following week versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Walker fumbled one punt return and had another fumble overturned on a penalty.[22] He also received playing time at receiver after in-game injuries to their corps.[23] After his off game, he was replaced in the lineup by Janarion Grant.[24] The Blue Bombers won the 107th Grey Cup against Hamilton with Walker on the practice roster.[25]

Pittsburgh Maulers

Walker signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL) on May 6, 2022.[26] He was released four days later.[27]

References
  1. "Kenneth Walker III". UCLA. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  2. Sawatzky, Mike (July 3, 2019). "Running the right route now". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  3. Austin, Daniel (May 26, 2018). "Stamps notes: Davis key to post-Hughes d-line". Calgary Sun. Retrieved August 27, 2019. Smith isn't completely alone in representing the Bay Area in the Stamps locker room, as first-year receiver Kenneth Walker hails from Brookside, Calif., just outside of San Francisco.
  4. Janis Carr (September 27, 2012). "Walker's path to UCLA had some sharp turns". The Orange County Register.
  5. Jimmy Durkin (August 26, 2011). "Kennedy High-Richmond football player Kenneth Walker III orally commits to Cal". The Mercury News.
  6. Jimmy Durkin (February 1, 2012). "Kennedy-Richmond receiver switches from Cal to UCLA". The Mercury News.
  7. "UCLA receiver Kenneth Walker III is looking like one of the good-hands people". Los Angeles Times. 2016-09-07. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  8. "Kenneth Walker III - 2017 Track & Field Roster - UCLABruins.com | UCLA Athletics". www.uclabruins.com. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  9. "After overcoming hurdles, speedster Kenneth Walker III seeks NFL shot". Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  10. "Kenneth Walker III returns to Richmond". Inside UCLA with Thuc Nhi Nguyen. 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  11. NGUYEN, THUC NHI. "UCLA receiver Kenneth Walker III believes he will catch on as a leader". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  12. Ryan O'Halloran (August 5, 2017). "Pro Day show earned Kenneth Walker a shot with Jaguars". The Florida Times-Union.
  13. "Kenneth Walker III posts career high as receiver for UCLA". The Richmond Standard. September 6, 2016.
  14. "Walker records another 62-yard TD catch; McKinley nets sack for UCLA". The Richmond Standard. October 3, 2016. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  15. "2017 Draft Scout Kenneth Walker III, UCLA NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  16. Oehser, John. "2017 offseason: Undrafted free agents bring roster to 90". Jaguars.com. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  17. "Jaguars claim cornerback Charles James II off waivers". Jaguars.com. August 14, 2017.
  18. Nguyen, Thuc Nhi (10 October 2018). "Former UCLA receiver Kenneth Walker III inspires through new children's book". Daily News. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  19. "Arizona Hotshots Week One Game Time Changed". oursportscentral.com. February 2, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  20. Allen, Taylor (July 18, 2019). "Matthews to watch Lawler play in his spot again". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  21. Tait, Ed (July 20, 2019). "UPON FURTHER REVIEW: OTT 1 WPG 31". BlueBombers.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  22. Sawatzky, Mike (July 29, 2019). "Bombers lnjured list grows: Alexander helped off field at practice". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved November 27, 2019. Rookie punt returner Kenny Walker had his problems holding onto the ball in Hamilton, fumbling once and having another fumble overturned by a no-yards penalty.
  23. Tait, Ed (July 27, 2019). "UPON FURTHER REVIEW: WPG 15 HAM 23". BlueBombers.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  24. Hamilton, Jeff (August 13, 2019). "Speedy Grant winning over Winnipeg teammates". Winnepeg Free Press. Retrieved November 27, 2019. It wasn't until an injury to Charles Nelson and an off game by Kenny Walker that Grant was inserted into the lineup.
  25. "HAMILTON TIGER-CATS vs WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS" (PDF). Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2019.
  26. @USFLMaulers (May 6, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Twitter.
  27. @USFLMaulers (May 10, 2022). "Roster Updates" (Tweet). Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Twitter.
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