WR Kenny Walker kicks off return to football with first career touchdown

Wide receiver Kenny Walker’s nerves were flaring up.

He hadn’t caught a live-game pass in over a year-and-a-half – since missing last season with back surgery – but on the sideline during the UCLA-Memphis game, he knew his opportunity was imminent.

So did his teammates, who were telling him: ‘You had better catch the ball. Don’t drop it.’

The play – a deep-post route – was designed specifically for him. All week leading up to Saturday, the coaches had told him to practice that one route.

The plan was simple: Using his track-like speed, Walker would be able to blow by defenders for an over-the-top throw-and-catch.

With 18 seconds left in the first quarter of Saturday’s game, the plan spun into motion.

“I just took off as fast I can,” Walker, a redshirt sophomore, said. “For a minute, I couldn’t see the ball in the lights, and then I just (saw) the ball drop over my right shoulder. I put my hands out and caught the ball and ran into the end zone.”

On the scoreboard, it registered as a 62-yard-touchdown catch to send UCLA ahead 13-7. For Walker, it marked his first career touchdown and his first catch since Dec. 2012.

A little beyond the end zone after his score, Walkers’ teammates draped over him, smacking his helmet and any part of him they could touch.

“I haven’t been out there in a while,” Walker said. “Being able to come back and be with my teammates and help out the team was the best feeling ever.”

It was a feeling he said had been building ever since June 2013 – when things originally went awry.

One day out at Spaulding Field, as he prepped for a 40-yard-dash by running sprints, Walker felt a weird twinge in his back. It was like his back had shifted, he said.

Eventually, the pain was shooting down to his left leg too, and that’s when he knew it was serious.

The doctors diagnosed him with a slipped disk in his sciatic nerve, prescribing back surgery to fix the problem.

Having a plan of action and trusted experience to lean upon brought Walker some relief. His father also experienced back problems, coincidentally including a slipped disk.

“Just being able to have somebody who had that experience, especially my dad, it was just more comforting to actually get the surgery, and get it over with right away,” he said.

During his recovery the following year, Walker specifically remembers the coaches coming to visit him in the offseason. They kept him focused, he said, focused to accomplish what he knew he could when he returned.

One of the things he imagined for over a year was that deep throw-and-catch, which on Saturday, he burned indelibly into every UCLA-Memphis highlight reel.

“It just showed dividends to how much work he’s put in this offseason, how much he’s come along,” said redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley.

As the season rolls onwards, expect Walker to flash his speed in more post routes, and maybe, a few screens and slants, if he can convince the coaches. He’s already planning to ask, he said.

“Him getting hurt last year set him back,” said junior wide receiver Jordan Payton. “(But he) definitely came out and showed you guys exactly what he’s going to do this season.”

On Monday, thinking ahead for a moment, Walker seemed to know the same. He grinned slightly and looked toward the ground, appearing lost in thought.

“There’s way more to come,” he said.