Walter Packer (born November 7, 1955) 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 ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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) with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. He was selected by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the eighth round of the

1977 NFL draft The 1977 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 May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

after playing

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Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

, where he was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Early life

Walter Packer was born on November 7, 1955, in

Leakesville, Mississippi Leakesville is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Chickasawhay River in Greene County, Mississippi, United States. It is served by the junction of Mississippi routes 57 and 63. ...

. He attended Leakesville High School in Leakesville.

College career

Packer was a four-year

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for the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the college athletics, athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA D ...

from 1973 to 1976. He rushed 50 times for 181 yards and one touchdown his freshman year in 1973 while also catching two passes for 54 yards. In 1974, he recorded 157 carries for 994 yards and six touchdowns, and five receptions for 35 yards. Packers led the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) in rushing yards that season and earned

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(AP) first-team

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honors. In 1975, he totaled 180 rushing attempts for 1,012 yards and seven touchdowns while catching five passes for 67 yards, garnering AP second-team All-SEC recognition. As a senior in 1976, he recorded 96 carries for 633 yards and six touchdowns, one reception for 15 yards, and 12 kick returns for 195 yards. Packer's 6.6 yards per carry were the most in the SEC that year. On March 21, 1977, Packer was presented with a resolution adopted by both the Mississippi

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and

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praising him for his college career. Packer's 2,820 rushing yards were the second most in SEC history at the time. He was inducted into Mississippi State University's athletics hall of fame in 2005.

Professional career

Packer was selected by the

in the eighth round, with the 203rd overall pick, of the

as 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 officially signed with the Falcons on June 21. He was waived on August 25, 1977. Packer signed with the

on September 16, 1977. He was listed as a

during the 1977 season and appeared in ten games while returning 13 kicks for 280 yards and 20 punts for 131 yards. He was released by the Seahawks on November 28, 1977. Packer was signed by the

on December 13, 1977. He played in one game for the Buccaneers but did not record any statistics. He was released on August 30, 1978. Packer signed with 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 ...

in March 1979. He was released later in 1979.

References

External links

College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Walter Living people 1955 births Players of American football from Mississippi Players of Canadian football from Mississippi American football defensive backs American football running backs American football return specialists American football wide receivers Canadian football defensive backs Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Atlanta Falcons players Seattle Seahawks players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players People from Leakesville, Mississippi 20th-century African-American sportsmen