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Kenneth Walker III Appreciation Thread

KW3 is 2nd in the nation in rushing TDs. 4th in yards per game and he's averaging just under 11 yards per carry. The Spartans play Nebraska on Saturday. The Huskers have struggled to stop the run.

Walker is now on the Odds Board for the Heisman Trophy. At Draft Kings, KW3 is currently 50 to 1 to win the Trophy. The only RBs with lower odds are Oregon's CJ Verdell and tOSU's TreVeyon Henderson.

Two years in a row that a WF transfer has made the Heisman Trophy odds board.
 
Yes, he’s at 10,000-1 and I would get on that before this UVA game.
 
There is no doubt that Walker is a dynamic runner a nd seems like a decent kid. However, I do have some differences with many of the sentiments on this b thread. I'm not sure if being great at one aspect of your game gives you the right not to do the other parts. We pass the ball 30 times a game, and everyone has an assignment on every play. Our backs are doing a doing an an adequate job of moving the ball as well as blocking when called on. I certainly have no inside knowledge, but it does seem possible that sooner or later there could be frustration or resentments from team mates who are expected to perform all of their assignments. In the end he is in a better situation or himself and I trust our guys and coaches to continue to do well.
 
Steph Curry didn't play much of any defense at Davidson - I guess they shouldn't have played him as much.
 
There is no doubt that Walker is a dynamic runner a nd seems like a decent kid. However, I do have some differences with many of the sentiments on this b thread. I'm not sure if being great at one aspect of your game gives you the right not to do the other parts. We pass the ball 30 times a game, and everyone has an assignment on every play. Our backs are doing a doing an an adequate job of moving the ball as well as blocking when called on. I certainly have no inside knowledge, but it does seem possible that sooner or later there could be frustration or resentments from team mates who are expected to perform all of their assignments. In the end he is in a better situation or himself and I trust our guys and coaches to continue to do well.

Even given his shortcomings in blitz pickups, this team would be better with KWIII on it, no question. Fortunately, we seem to have at least 3 good backs, so the loss of KWIII hasn't been as big as it could've been, but still wish he was still here.
 
If we were struggling in the run game, the tone would be different...Water is also wet.
 
Please delete this thread. Walker left because he couldn’t cut it in the classroom. He didn’t finish the semester online. He quit on the team and in his classes. Move on. We have a stable of good running backs.
 
Please delete this thread. Walker left because he couldn’t cut it in the classroom. He didn’t finish the semester online. He quit on the team and in his classes. Move on. We have a stable of good running backs.

Or at least quit parroting the coach speak about his blocking. Do you know how many times I have heard sports announcers talk about a Heisman, all-American, all-pro rbs and how good they are at run blocking as well as toting the rock? If never you would be correct.
 
Or at least quit parroting the coach speak about his blocking. Do you know how many times I have heard sports announcers talk about a Heisman, all-American, all-pro rbs and how good they are at run blocking as well as toting the rock? If never you would be correct.

Sorry meant pass blocking.
 
Walker has clearly been everything Tucker and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson hoped he’d be, and maybe more. He’s the nation’s leading rusher through three games. His work after contact has been spectacular. Pro Football Focus has Walker No. 2 nationally in yards after contact per attempt (6.53) among backs who have made at least 50 rush attempts.

He’s setting defenders up in space and beating them with cuts, but he’s also punishing every September arm tackle that comes in his path. He’s fast enough to get the corner and the suddenness of his cuts continues to catch linebackers flat-footed. But what I keep going back to with Walker is his vision.

Much about MSU’s run game is built with Walker’s vision in mind. The Spartans are often working to create stretch with the defense that could crack a hole for him to find front-side — but at the same time, it’s also naturally giving Walker all sorts of potential cutback lanes.

And if he’s missed one of those this season, I’m not aware of it.

http://https://theathletic.com/2834892/2021/09/20/michigan-state-is-winning-thanks-to-kenneth-walker-iii-payton-thorne-and-a-relentless-process/?source=user_shared_article
 
I was sooo excited knowing we had Walker and Beal Smith in the backfield in 2020. WF would have had a 2 headed monster if KWIII had continued with the Deacs in 2021 and KWIII's talents would have been well understood by the scouts, imo, but he has made certain of it with the transfer.


The pundits who are constantly referencing the transfer from WF should be noting the Clawson skill set for evaluating talent which bodes well for WF going forward. If Clawson made some kind of mistake with the Newman, Surratt and KWIII departures then surely Clawson will correct his error going forward I believe.
 
Be interesting to see if he makes it through the season uninjured. Heavy load he is caring
 
Or at least quit parroting the coach speak about his blocking. Do you know how many times I have heard sports announcers talk about a Heisman, all-American, all-pro rbs and how good they are at run blocking as well as toting the rock? If never you would be correct.

I actually heard the announcers in the Dallas- Tampa game describe Ezekiel Elliot as basically a third tackle in the game because of how well he was picking up blitzes. That talk goes back to college. That is a part of why Zeke is considered a complete running back.

Announcers used to talk about how well Walter Payton blocked as well, but he's arguably the best RB of all time.
 
It's also something a RB can learn to do better in their third year as a college player.
 
It's also something a RB can learn to do better in their third year as a college player.

If any one is trying to use KWIII's subpar blocking and blitz pickup to say we're better off not having him here, that is like saying your basketball team would've been better off without Shaq because he couldn't make free throws.
 
If any one is trying to use KWIII's subpar blocking and blitz pickup to say we're better off not having him here, that is like saying your basketball team would've been better off without Shaq because he couldn't make free throws.

So in this analogy, KWIII is the college football version of Shaquille O'Neal ? Noted.
 
This is just sad. Walker played 15 ACC games in two years with decent numbers. Walker plays one ACC game this year and his numbers go through the roof.

 
This thread was started on September 4th and it now has 198 posts, admittedly a number of them from me. Over the same time period, that constitutes more posts than there have been on the 2021 Wake Forest Football Season thread (167). It is typical for this Board to have substantially more focus on one WF transfer than the collective interest on 110+ kids currently playing for the Deacs.

KW3 is a talented player, but WF has a lot of talented players currently representing our school in what could be a special season. Might be worth making the effort to take note of those currently wearing the Black and Gold. They are worth the attention.
 
I have rarely ever posted anything on this board. I enjoy reading all the posts. I feel like I have to express my frustration on this one. I think Clawson is a great coach and a great fit at WF. He’s done a terrific job. We have a lot to be thankful for having him at Wake.

But.

He handled this poorly. I don’t know what happened or why. All I know is that a player who is currently in the Heisman conversation left Wake last year because he wanted more playing time. He was clearly the BEST RB on this team last year. Better than all the other backs including CBS. He maybe the best RB in the ACC. Maybe he needed to block better. Maybe he needed to pick up blitzes better. Still, he was the best RB on this team last year. I think the coach made a big mistake on this one. He is human and coaches make lots of mistakes. This team would be better with Walker this season and I don’t think that is open to dispute. The coaches should have found a way to give him more playing time. The best players should always play. In my opinion, they screwed up and we will all regret it. There is nothing we can do about it now. I only hope the coaches learn from it. They made the mistake here.
 
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