| Ricky Walker |
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 | Class:
Senior
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| Hometown:
Oakland, Calif.
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| High School:
Bishop O'Dowd High School
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| Height / Weight:
5-11 / 185
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| Position:
Cornerback
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| Birthdate:
02/02/1978
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| Experience:
1V
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PERSONALBorn 2/2/78 in Oakland, CA...son of R.M. Walker and Lagretta Pittman...his father is deceased and his mother is a postal worker...entered OSU with a 3.3 GPA and he is in the College of Health and Human Performance and is an exercise and sports science major at OSU...he was on the honor roll at Bishop O'dowd every semester but one and he carried a 3.5 GPA during football season...enjoys video games, swimming and radio-controlled cars...Deion Sanders is his favorite athlete...selected OSU because, "a chance to play running back in the Pac-10 Conference and possibly a chance to play early."
OSU--(2000-Senior)--Ricky enters his senior year with 30 games under his belt, including five starts, all at tailback in his freshman season ...Ricky has 148 career defensive points, including 39 tackles, 5 passes broken up and 3 interceptions...he also rushed for 335 yards on 80 carries as a freshman tailback...he is a solid cornerback on defense...he tackles very well and is an above average cover corner...he addition, he will likely returned kickoffs in 2000...Ricky opened spring practice as the No. 2 left corner behind Keith Heyward-Johnson, a two-year starter...at the conclusion of spring drills, Ricky remained as Keith’s backup, only at right corner...he can play either corner spot and will be the first backup in the game at either side...OSU does not lose anything when Ricky is in the game...Ricky posted weightlifting bests of 395 in the back squat, 275 in the bench press and 253 in the power clean during winter conditioning.
OSU--(1999-Junior)--After playing as a backup corner in 1998, his first year on defense, Ricky moved into the No. 1 spot at right corner on the depth chart for the start of spring drills and he remained there all spring...Ricky had a very good spring and his defensive instincts and skills continue to improve...has excellent hands, relating back to his days on offense...has a chance to be one of the top corners in the Pac-10 this fall...in OSU's final spring game at Hillsboro (5/1), Ricky had 6 solo tackles for the Black squad...has been very impressive in the weight room so far at OSU...Ricky has personal bests of 300 pounds in the hang clean, 310 in the bench press, 45 in the back squat and 270 in the incline...has an impressive 34.00 inch vertical jump...tested for only 6.44 percent body fat.
(1998-Sophomore)--Ricky, in consultation with the OSU coaching staff, decided to move to cornerback during spring drills as OSU lost Basheer Elahee and Larry Bumpus to graduation and Ricky, who played on defense in high school, had the necessary speed and athletic ability to make the switch...then Coach Mike Riley felt Ricky could make a bigger impact on defense...Ricky made the transition to defense in spring drills and showed improvement with each practice...returned to fall camp listed as the No. 3 right cornerback, but he quickly moved to No. 2 at right corner behind Keith Heyward-Johnson...Ricky played in all 11 games as a backup to Heyward-Johnson, but actually played about the same amount of time and produced 114 defensive points, compared to 70 by Heyward-Johnson...Ricky's best statistical game was in the Civil War against Oregon as he recorded 9 solo tackles and broke up a pass for 30 points...intercepted 2 passes during the season, one against Baylor and one against Utah State, which was a huge play...Ricky picked off an Aggie pass by Riley Jensen at the Utah State 36 just 36 seconds into the fourth quarter and the pick set up OSU's winning touchdown in a 20-16 victory...his pass defense continued to improve as the season went along...for the season, Ricky posted 114 defensive points, the 11th best mark among defensive players...he had 25 solo tackles, 7 assisted tackles, 4 passes broken up and 2 interceptions on the season.
(1997-Redshirt Freshman)--Ricky Walker played in 10 games in 1997 and started five...he missed the USC game due to a sprained left knee...he started games against Utah State, UCLA, Washington, California and Arizona...Ricky opened the season as the No. 2 tailback behind DeShawn Williams...rushed for 26 yards on 7 carries in the season opener against North Texas...in the next game against Stanford, Ricky rushed for 73 yards on 4 carries, including a 60-yard run that set up his own 9-yard TD run...had 84 all-purpose yards on 5 plays in that game...added 4 yards on 3 carries against ASU...had 62 yards on 19 carries against San Jose State...rushed for 46 yards on 17 carries against Utah State, including 1 touchdown run...had 9 yards on 4 carries at UCLA, 10 yards on 9 carries against Washington and accounted for 32 yards on the ground on 10 carries at California...had 12 yards on 7 carries at Arizona and did not have a rushing attempt at Oregon...for the season, he rushed for 274 yards on 80 carries, an average of 3.4 yards per carry, and scored 3 touchdowns...caught 6 passes for 61 yards (6.1 average)...he was OSU's second-leading rusher...had 335 all-purpose yards on 86 plays, an average of 3.9 per play...based a lot on his impressive play during his redshirt season, Ricky reported to spring drills as the No. 2 tailback behind DeShawn Williams...Ricky was very impressive during the spring, both as a runner and a receiver...Ricky was unable to play in the final spring game due to a hamstring pull but he showed enough in the spring to hold on to his No. 2 spot on the final spring depth chart.
(1996-Freshman)--Ricky Walker spent the 1996 season as a redshirt freshman tailback and he enjoyed an impressive year while performing as a scout team running back...played most of the fall with a cast on his left wrist for a fractured scaphoid bone suffered in a high school summer all-star game...despite the cast, he made a lot of sensational plays, including catching some very difficult passes.
BISHOP O'DOWD HIGH SCHOOL, Oakland, CA--(1993-95)--Ricky was selected by BlueChip Illustrated Magazine as a BCI Western Region all-star...had a sensational season his senior year...Ricky was named to the SuperPrep All-Farwest Team as the #48 player...rushed for 2,334 yards and 31 touchdowns rushing, averaging 8.3 yards per carry, and he caught 4 touchdown passes and scored 242 points in 12 games...he was among the state's top five scoring leaders...his career numbers for the Dragons include 3,362 yards rushing with 48 touchdowns and 493 carries, 6.8 average...as a junior, Ricky rushed for 933 yards on 181 carries in 10 games, scoring 17 touchdowns and having a long gain of 63 yards...rushed for 95 yards on 26 carries his sophomore year and 1 rushing TD...also a dangerous receiver out of the backfield with 36 career receptions for 654 yards (18.2 average) and 8 touchdowns...returned 6 punts for 144 yards (24.0 avg.) and 8 kickoffs for 216 yards (27.0 avg.) as a senior, including a 92-yard TD kickoff return...selected OSU over Arizona State and Utah, but also visited Stanford and California...earned three letters in football and was a three-year starter...started as a cornerback his sophomore year and at tailback his junior and senior seasons...lettered as a guard on the basketball team his junior year and has earned two letters in track as a long and triple jumper...he was a first-team all-league (ACCAL) running back as a junior and senior...named honorable mention all-metro as a junior and second team his senior year by the San Francisco Examiner...he was picked as the offensive Back of the Year in the ACCAL his senior year...named first-team on the Alameda newspaper group (five papers) Best of the Best team...he was a first-team All-East Bay pick as a senior...he was the State Player of the Week one time and he was nominated for the State Player of the Year...he was second in the state in points scored with 242, coming on 37 touchdowns, plus 10 2-point conversions...ranked fourth in the state of California in rushing in 12 games...his best individual game was against Richmond High School, a 338-yard, 5 touchdown game, including an 82-yard run from scrimmage, all coming in the first half...scored 5 touchdowns in a game three times, twice vs. Richmond and once against Alameda High School...has been electronically timed at 4.51 in the 40...received a certificate of achievement by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame for scholarship, athletics and citizenship...was named Bishop O'dowd's MVP as a junior and senior..."Since the end of the season I have slept like a baby, I keep waking up crying," said Coach Paul Perenon after realizing Walker will be gone..."He produced on the field, he was a presence in the locker room and was a leader. OSU will be able to build around him in the future. I am real proud of him. He is a Pac-10 back and you will be thrilled with him. He was electric in high school. Every time he touched the ball he was a threat to go all the way."
