Bruce Romell Walker (July 18, 1972 – November 6, 2014) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who played one season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. He was selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the second round of the

1994 NFL draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

after playing

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for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

. He was released by the Eagles prior to the start of the 1994 season, and was a member of the Patriots in 1994 and 1995. He played for the Frankfurt Galaxy of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

in 1997.

Early life

Walker was an All American running back and linebacker at Dominguez high school where he earned honors of parade All American, All USA Today and Gatorade circle of champions Player of the year for California and the Pacific region. His senior year, he rushed for over 1,500 yards, 15 touchdowns and recorded over 150 tackles and 15 sacks on defense. He was also considered the number one high school recruit in the nation in 1990. At 6'4" and 240 pounds, he was also the second leg on the school 4x100 relay team and ran a personal best of 21.9 in the 200 meters.

College career

Bruce started as a true freshman for UCLA as a defensive lineman after showing up to campus a little over weight. He played three years where he earned all pac-10 honors and defensive freshman of the year. standout games were Arizona state where he recorded 15 solo tackles and two sacks from the nose guard position earning pac-10 player of the week and followed up again against Oregon state with a repeated performance 12 solo tackles earning player of the week again. Bruce also held the bench press record of 507 lbs.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Walker was selected by the

in the second round (37th overall) of the

. He was released on August 28, 1994.

New England Patriots

Bruce was picked up by the New England Patriots where he played two seasons and started 5 games. In the off-season after his final year with the Patriots, Walker incurred a stab wound in his chest, which he explained as a result of missing a catch when he and a friend were throwing a steak knife at each other in a grocery store parking lot.

Frankfurt Galaxy

Walker was selected by the Frankfurt Galaxy in the sixteenth round (95th overall) of the 1997 World League Draft. Bruce played two seasons with the Galaxy leading them to the world bowl in 1998. The San Diego Chargers picked Bruce up in 1998 and 1999 where he was plagued with injuries which prevented him from making the team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Bruce 1972 births 2014 deaths American football defensive tackles UCLA Bruins football players New England Patriots players Frankfurt Galaxy players Manuel Dominguez High School alumni Players of American football from Compton, California