2022 Oklahoma Breakout Player: RB Tawee Walker

Half 1 of a collection exploring Oklahoma’s potential breakout gamers in 2022:

Was Tawee Walker a spring sport workhorse? Or does Oklahoma’s junior faculty working again have endurance into the autumn?

Walker joined the Sooners for the spring semester and completed the Purple/White Sport with 13 carries for 52 yards and one spectacular landing.

Solely true freshman Jovantae Barnes (17 makes an attempt, 60 yards, two TDs) carried the soccer greater than Walker that day.

Given a possibility, might Walker emerge when OU begins coaching camp on Aug. 4? Might he break into the common rotation?

Bodily, it appears Walker is able to dealing with such a workload. He’s 5-foot-10, round 210 kilos and runs low to the bottom — avoiding an excessive amount of contact and using sufficient energy.

In actuality, Walker — a walk-on from Palomar (CA) Faculty — must have a particular camp to work his method into the rotation. That’s not asking an excessive amount of. Not solely did he run the ball with energy and authority, however he additionally caught two passes for 31 yards, together with a 19-yard catch-and-scamper.

However Walker may also have to catch some breaks on the depth chart forward of him. At present, senior Eric Grey is RB1, and he’s backed up by junior Marcus Main, who’s additionally poised for a breakout season. Behind them, 25-year-old UCF walk-on switch Beno Thompson might emerge. After which there’s the Sooners’ fabulous freshman duo of Gavin Sawchuk and Barnes.

Sawchuk stands out as the furthest behind going into camp. A bodily runner with top-end, monitor velocity, he was in highschool final spring and didn’t get to Norman till June. Barnes, in the meantime, obtained a full spring observe.

So did Walker.

Walker’s backstory is exclusive: working again in Las Vegas (he’s mates with Rhamondre Stevenson and regards his place coach, DeMarco Murray, as a Vegas legend), security in Arizona, prep college in Massachusetts, out of soccer for nearly two years, then junior faculty in California.

However make no mistake: Walker a Division I expertise. His journey isn’t completely in contrast to one other walk-on working again who wasn’t recruited, bounced round small colleges, sat out of soccer working an actual job and walked on at OU earlier than finally turning into a sensation: Dominique Whaley, who rushed for 870 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2011 and 2012.

If he works arduous and catches a break or two in August and September, Walker might discover himself with an identical alternative.