Kenneth Walker III (born April 1, 1994) is an American former 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 ...

from 2012 to 2016. He was also a sprinter on the UCLA track and field team. Walker played for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) in 2019 and for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) in 2022.

Early life

Walker was born outside of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

in Brookside, California, to Patricia Jones and Kenneth Walker II. He grew up in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Wi ...

in the dangerous Iron Triangle neighborhood of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. His parents separated when he was in the seventh grade, and his mom raised Walker and his two older brothers as a single parent. In an attempt to keep her youngest out of trouble, she sent him to live in Oakley with his father, who had remarried. There, Walker excelled in both track and football at Freedom High School. After Walker's sophomore year, his father divorced, and they moved back to Richmond with his mother. At Richmond's John F. Kennedy High School, he won three Junior Olympics titles in the hurdles and became an excellent student and a top-rated high school football player. He received playing time in high school as a running back, receiver, punter, kick returner and quarterback. According to ESPN, Walker received more than 12 scholarship offers to play college football. He orally committed in August 2011 to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. However, he began to reconsider after Cal receivers coach Eric Kiesau left the school. In February 2012, Walker switched his commitment to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

College athletics

Walker enrolled at UCLA in 2012 and played at the

position for the Bruins football team. He appeared in 12 games as a true freshman in 2012, missed the 2013 season with a back injury, and appeared in nine games in 2014, 13 games in 2015, and 11 games in 2016. He started nine games for UCLA in 2015 and seven in 2016. Walker had two 100-yard receiving games during the 2016 season: 115 yards and a touchdown on six receptions against Texas A&M on September 3; and 114 yards and two touchdowns on two receptions against Arizona on October 1. Walker also competed as a sprinter for the UCLA track team.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Walker was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

as an undrafted free agent following the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

. He was waived on August 14, 2017.

Arizona Hotshots

In 2018, Walker signed with the

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their ...

for the inaugural 2019 season of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF), but was waived in January 2019 as part of the final roster cuts before the season opener.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Walker signed with the

of the

(CFL) on March 18, 2019. He was released during final roster cuts on June 9, but was re-signed to the team's practice roster the same day. Walker was promoted to the active roster on July 18 to replace injured kick returner Charles Nelson. In his first CFL game in Week 6, he returned nine punts for 97 yards and one kickoff for 26 against the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

. In the following week versus the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

, Walker fumbled one punt return and had another fumble overturned on a penalty. He also received playing time at receiver after in-game injuries to their corps. After his off game, he was replaced in the lineup by Janarion Grant. The Blue Bombers won the

107th Grey Cup The 107th Grey Cup decided the champion of the 2019 season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). The match was played on November 24, 2019, between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. Win ...

against Hamilton with Walker on the practice roster.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Walker signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the

(USFL) on May 6, 2022. He was released four days later.

References

External links

CFL.ca bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Kenneth III 1994 births Living people John F. Kennedy High School (Richmond, California) alumni Players of American football from Richmond, California American football wide receivers UCLA Bruins football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Arizona Hotshots players Players of Canadian football from California Canadian football wide receivers Canadian football return specialists Winnipeg Blue Bombers players American male sprinters Track and field athletes from California UCLA Bruins men's track and field athletes Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) players 21st-century American sportsmen