Gavin Walls

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1980)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox gridiron football person

| name = Gavin Walls

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|1|29}}

| birth_place = Ripley, Mississippi, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| team = Free Agent

| number =

| status = Active

| import = Yes

| position1 = Defensive end

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 231

| college = Arkansas

| playing_years1 = {{NFL Year|2004}}

| playing_team1 = Minnesota Vikings

| playing_years2 = 2004

| playing_team2 = Scottish Claymores

| playing_years3 = {{CFL Year|2005}}–{{CFL Year|2010}}

| playing_team3 = Winnipeg Blue Bombers

| playing_years4 = {{CFL Year|2010}}–{{CFL Year|2011}}

| playing_team4 = Montreal Alouettes

| career_highlights =

• CFL Rookie of the Year ({{CFL Year|2005}})
• Jackie Parker Trophy ({{CFL Year|2005}})

| CFLEastAllStar = {{CFL Year|2006}}, {{CFL Year|2008}}

| CFLWestAllStar = {{CFL Year|2005}}

| awards =

| CFL = 290

}}

Gavin Walls (born January 29, 1980, in Ripley, Mississippi) is a professional American football player, who most recently played with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

A defensive end, Walls played collegiate football for the University of Arkansas. Following college, he attended training camp with the Minnesota Vikings, but was cut before the regular season. In 2004, he was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Europe draft by the Scottish Claymores.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=129|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630161836/http://www.bluebombers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=129|archive-date=2009-06-30|title=Winnipeg Blue Bombers - #ForTheW}}

In February 2005, Walls signed with the Blue Bombers and ended up having one of the most successful rookie seasons in team history. He led the team in quarterback sacks with 12, second best that season in the CFL, and was named CFL Rookie of the Year following the 2005 season.{{Cite web |url=http://cfl.ca/page/more_player_awards_orook |title=CFL.ca - Player Awards |access-date=2008-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227151339/http://www.cfl.ca/page/more_player_awards_orook |archive-date=2009-02-27 |url-status=dead }} He was recognized as CFL Lineman of the Week four times during the season and was selected as a CFL West Division All-Star and a CFLPA All-Star for the season. During the season, he scored two touchdowns, unusual for a defensive lineman.{{Cite web |url=http://cfl.ca/roster/show/id/290 |title=CFL.ca |access-date=2008-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924190816/http://www.cfl.ca/roster/show/id/290 |archive-date=2008-09-24 |url-status=dead }}

Walls's second season saw a similar level of performance, registering eleven quarterback sacks and earning honours as a CFL East Division All-Star in 2006.

In 2007, Walls played a substantial role in leading the Blue Bombers to the 95th Grey Cup, which they lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 23–19.

Walls was signed to a new contract by the Blue and Gold heading into the 2009 season. He is regarded as the best in the league at the strong-side defensive end position, and his new contract reflects that.

On February 26, 2010, Gavin was traded to the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for non-import defensive end Stan Van Sichem.

Gavin is working with troubled youth to make his adopted city of Winnipeg a better place to live. He is currently the Project Manager at Clearview Co-op in Steinbach, Manitoba and is highly respected.