Phillip Walker (American football)

Phillip Walker
No. 5 – Indianapolis Colts
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1995-02-26) February 26, 1995
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school: Elizabeth
(Elizabeth, New Jersey)
College: Temple
Undrafted: 2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Practice squad
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Phillip Walker (born February 26, 1995), nicknamed "PJ", is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, from 2013 to 2016.

Early years

Walker was born in 1995 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to parents Tamicha Drake and Phillip Walker, Sr. Phillip 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
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ 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:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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 49-59 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, but not limited to: 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 July 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. Phillip 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
    2013Temple15225060.82,0848.3208150.8903323.73
    2014Temple20338153.32,3176.11315107.81063243.13
    2015Temple24543256.72,9726.9198125.3802152.72
    2016Temple23039558.23,2958.32213140.165-100-1.51
    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
    Ht Wt 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad
    5 ft 11 in
    (1.80 m)    		 214 lb
    (97 kg)    		 4.74 s 2.72 s 1.56 s 4.40 s 6.90 s 29 1⁄2 in
    (0.75 m)    		 9 ft 3 in
    (2.82 m)
    All values from Temple Pro Day[11]

    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 was released on September 18, 2018, but was re-signed four days later.[18][19]

    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 Sign RB Jeremy McNichols Back To Practice Squad". Colts.com. September 18, 2018.
    19. ↑ "Roster Moves: Colts Bring Back TE Erik Swoope To Active Roster". Colts.com. September 22, 2018.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.