Ricky Walker
{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1996)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Ricky Walker
| image = 2021, 96, Ricky Walker.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Walker with the Blue Bombers in 2021
| current_team =
| number =
| position = Defensive tackle
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1996|4|18}}
| birth_place = Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 295
| high_school = Bethel (VA)
| college = Virginia Tech
| undraftedyear = 2019
| pastteams =
- Dallas Cowboys ({{NFL Year|2019}})*
- Tampa Bay Vipers ({{XFL Year|2020}})
- Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|2020}})*
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers ({{CFL Year|2021|2023}})
| status =
| cflstatus = American
| highlights =
| statlabel1 =
| statvalue1 =
| pfr = WalkRi01
| cfl = ricky-walker/165228/
}}
Ricky Walker (born April 18, 1996) is a gridiron football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech.
Early years
Walker attended Bethel High School. As a junior, he was a two-way player, making 70 tackles and 11 sacks, while receiving first-team All-district and All-region honors.{{cite web| url=https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/college/virginia-tech/article_13506c40-a941-509c-9beb-cda62433e970.html | title=Bethel DT Ricky Walker tweets he's committed to VT | accessdate=February 15, 2020}}
As a senior, he missed two games with an injury, finishing with 73 tackles (15 for loss) and 11 sacks, while receiving second-team All-state honors.
College career
Walker accepted a football scholarship from Virginia Tech. As a true freshman, he played in 11 games as a backup defensive tackle and tallied nine tackles (one for loss). He was redshirted in 2015.{{cite web| url=https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/college/virginia-tech/article_5fb4b28a-6e36-5a9d-a1b3-27c023cfbd51.html | title=Young Hokies D-lineman Ricky Walker gets a shot, makes most of it | accessdate=February 15, 2020}}
As a sophomore, he appeared in all 14 games (four starts). He registered 28 tackles (6.5 for loss), 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hurries, four pass breakups and two kickoff returns for 19 yards on special teams.
As a junior, he was named the starter at the 3-technique tackle spot. He collected 41 tackles (12.5 for loss), 4.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, one pass break up and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.
As a senior, he was limited with a foot injury during the first half of the season. He recorded 49 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss (led the team), two sacks and two forced fumbles. He also was a finalist for the Dudley Award, given to the top collegiate player in the state of Virginia.
Professional career
=Dallas Cowboys=
Walker was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, after being passed on the 2019 NFL draft because of a lack of height.{{cite web| url=https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/college/virginia-tech/article_69f2cc84-66d3-11e9-bae5-c7d5e5a11640.html | title=Virginia Tech's Ricky Walker is baffled, motivated by lack of NFL draft buzz | accessdate=February 15, 2020}} He had three tackles (one for loss) and one quarterback hit in the preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers. He was waived on August 31.{{cite web| url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27492267/nfl-cuts-all-32-teams-out | title=NFL cuts for all 32 teams: Who's in and who's out | date=31 August 2019 | accessdate=February 15, 2020}}
=Tampa Bay Vipers=
In October 2019, he was selected by the Tampa Bay Vipers during phase 3 of the 2020 XFL Draft.{{cite web|url=https://www.xfl.com/en-US/articles/tampa-bay-vipers-full-draft-recap|title=Tampa Bay Vipers Full Draft Recap|accessdate=October 23, 2019}} In March, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season.{{cite web |title=XFL Injured Reserve |url=https://www.xfl.com/xfl-injured-reserve |website=XFL.com |accessdate=February 25, 2020}} He finished the XFL's debut season with eight tackles and one quarterback hit in five games.{{Cite web|url=https://stats.xfl.com/Player/10619|title=XFL Live Stats|website=stats.xfl.com|access-date=2020-03-13}} He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.{{cite news |author=Condotta, Bob |title=XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/xfl-suspends-operations-terminates-all-employees/ |website=SeattleTimes.com |date=April 10, 2020 |accessdate=July 17, 2020}}
=Cleveland Browns=
On August 22, 2020, Walker signed with the Cleveland Browns.{{cite web|title=Browns sign DT Ricky Walker|url=https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/browns-sign-dt-ricky-walker|website=ClevelandBrowns.com|date=August 22, 2020}} The Browns waived Walker on September 3, 2020.{{cite news |title=Browns release 4 players |url=https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/browns-release-4-players-x2865 |publisher=ClevelandBrowns.com |date=September 3, 2020 |access-date=September 3, 2020 |archive-date=September 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905143539/https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/browns-release-4-players-x2865 |url-status=dead }}
=Winnipeg Blue Bombers=
Walker signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL on February 18, 2021.{{cite news |title=Blue Bombers add Ricky Walker and Christian Angulo to roster |url=https://www.bluebombers.com/2021/02/19/blue-bombers-add-ricky-walker-christian-angulo-roster/ |website=BlueBombers.com |date=February 19, 2021 |access-date=February 23, 2021}} He played in his first career regular season game on August 13.{{cite news |title=Ricky Walker |url=https://www.bluebombers.com/players/ricky-walker/165228/ |website=BlueBombers.com |access-date=August 23, 2021}} He spent most of the season being moved between the practice squad and the active roster. He appeared in seven games as a backup player, making eight tackles and one sack.
In 2022, he was placed on the injured reserve list on July 3 and was activated on August 3. He was placed on the injured reserve list on November 13. He was signed to the active roster on November 20. He appeared in 12 games as a reserve player, collecting 14 tackles and one sack.
In 2023, he appeared in seven games with seven starts, making 12 tackles and three sacks. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 13, 2024.{{cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/fa24/ |title=Official 2024 Free Agent Tracker |publisher=Canadian Football League |access-date=May 23, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://www.cfl.ca/players/ricky-walker/165228/ Winnipeg Blue Bombers bio]
- [https://hokiesports.com/sports/football/roster/ricky-walker/8881 Virginia Tech bio]
{{108th Grey Cup}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Ricky}}
Category:Players of American football from Newport News, Virginia
Category:Players of Canadian football from Virginia
Category:American football defensive tackles
Category:Virginia Tech Hokies football players
Category:Dallas Cowboys players
Category:Tampa Bay Vipers players