#K9ForHeisman
11/5/2021 9:09:00 AM | Football
After watching Kenneth Walker III run the football, you won't forget #9 wearing the Green and White.
Since the first play of the year – when he raced 75 yards to the end zone against Northwestern – Walker has made an impact for the Spartans. He ran for a season-high 264 yards against the Wildcats and also ran for 233 yards at Rutgers, including a school-record 94-yard TD run, and had 197 yards and five TDs vs. Michigan.
A finalist for the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year and Doak Walker Award, the junior has eight 100-yard games overall in 2021.
Walker leads the FBS in rushing yards after contact (1,168), 20-plus yard carries (21) and missed forced tackles (89), and also ranks among the nation’s leaders in total rushing yards (second with 1,636; 136.3 ypg), 10-plus yard carries (tied for second with 46), yards from scrimmage (sixth with 143.8 ypg), total touchdowns (tied for seventh with 19), all-purpose yards (seventh with 143.8 ypg), rushing touchdowns (eighth with 18) and yards per carry (14th with 6.2 avg.).
K9 shattered records, was First Team All-B1G Ten, and was on a Heisman campaign all year.
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) December 1, 2021
Fan vote for this year's award will help select the four finalists and winner.
Help K9 get to New York City #K9ForHeisman
VOTE: https://t.co/rz0j2CNcxX pic.twitter.com/vSQjwdjusY
Kenneth Walker III – FBS Rankings (through Dec. 4 games)
- Yards after contact: 1,168 (1st)
- 20+ yard carries: 21 (1st)
- Missed forced tackles: 89 (1st)
- Rushing yards per game: 136.3 (2nd)
- Total rushing yards: 1,636 (2nd)
- 10+ yard carries: 46 (T-2nd)
- Carries: 263 (5th)
- Yards from scrimmage: 143.8 (6th)
- All-purpose yards: 143.8 (7th)
- Total TDs: 19 (T-7th)
- Rushing TDs: 18 (8th)
- Total points: 9.5 points per game (T-10th)
- Yards per carry: 6.2 (14th)
The film doesn’t lie #K9ForHeisman pic.twitter.com/puw3soFidX
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) November 3, 2021
Ken Walker ?? Doak Walker Semi-Finalist @DoakWalkerAward // #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/xHhAuOoqYe
— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) November 18, 2021
THE KENNETH WALKER III STORY: SPARTAN ALL-ACCESS
Kenneth Walker III scored five rushing touchdowns against No. 6 Michigan on Oct. 30 – the most by any player ever against the Wolverines. Following his record-breaking performance, which included 197 rushing rushing and 208 all-purpose yards, Walker was named the National Offensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and the Maxwell Football Club.
HELLO NEW YORK! I'LL SEE YOU IN A MINUTE!Gus Johnson of FOX Sports after Kenneth Walker III's fifth rushing TD vs. Michigan.
?? "HELLO NEW YORK. I'LL SEE YOU IN A MINUTE." ??
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 31, 2021
Gus Johnson's call over @Kenneth_Walker9's game-winning TD run for @MSU_Football was ?????? pic.twitter.com/mCYmoSXeI0
K9: THE HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL
MEET KENNETH WALKER III
2021 Season Statistics
Season Highs (Offensive)
| Statistic | Value | Date | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing Yards | 264 | 09/03/2021 | at Northwestern |
| Longest Rush | 94 | 10/09/2021 | at Rutgers |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 5 | 10/30/2021 | Michigan |
| Reception Yards | 29 | 11/13/2021 | Maryland |
| Longest Reception | 17 | 11/13/2021 | Maryland |
| Receiving Touchdowns | 1 | 09/18/2021 | at Miami (FL) |
Offensive Statistics
| Date | Opponent | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATT | YDS | TD | Long | REC | YDS | TD | Long | ||
| 09/03/2021 | at Northwestern | 23 | 264 | 4 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 09/11/2021 | Youngstown St. | 7 | 57 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 09/18/2021 | at Miami (FL) | 27 | 172 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 7 |
| 09/25/2021 | Nebraska | 19 | 61 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/02/2021 | Western Ky. | 24 | 126 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/09/2021 | at Rutgers | 29 | 233 | 1 | 94 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 10/16/2021 | at Indiana | 23 | 84 | 0 | 13 | 1 | -5 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/30/2021 | Michigan | 23 | 197 | 5 | 58 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
| 11/06/2021 | at Purdue | 22 | 136 | 1 | 33 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 12 |
| 11/13/2021 | Maryland | 30 | 143 | 2 | 36 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 17 |
| 11/20/2021 | at Ohio State | 6 | 25 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 11/27/2021 | Penn St. | 30 | 138 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 263 | 1636 | 18 | 94 | 13 | 89 | 1 | 17 | |
From second-string RB and virtual unknown to transfer portal treasure and Heisman candidate.
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 6, 2021
If you didn't know who Kenneth Walker III was before, you do now. pic.twitter.com/ET81CFQkla
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT KENNETH WALKER III
"Go ahead and give Kenneth Walker the Heisman... He hit a home run by coming to Michigan State, I'm proud of him man."Reggie Bush
"Go ahead and give Kenneth Walker the Heisman... He hit a home run by coming to Michigan State, I'm proud of him man." @ReggieBush had high praise for @Kenneth_Walker9 after his massive performance in today's win for @MSU_Football ?? pic.twitter.com/eYOJRYtYXG
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 30, 2021
"I think that this guy opened a lot of eyes across the country today. And with the eyes of the country on him, he played his best football."@joelklatt recaps @MSU_Football's win over Michigan and highlights @Kenneth_Walker9's incredible 5 TD performance ?? pic.twitter.com/0Gtvbin9ov
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 30, 2021
He's a special player. He's a team player. We all know that he's a Heisman-type guy."Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker
“Beauty came from quiet Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III, the nation’s leading rusher whose stop-start capacities ratified why those who watched him in high school tended to invoke the holy words “Barry Sanders.”- Chuck Culpepper of the Washington Post (Oct. 30, 2021) | <A HREF="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/10/30/michigan-state-football-beats-michigan/" target="_blank">Link to article</a>
“The best college football game of the 2021 season featured the best offensive football player in the nation…”-Pat Forde, Sports Illustrated (Oct. 30, 2021) | <A HREF="https://www.si.com/college/2021/10/31/msu-beats-michigan-kenneth-walker-mel-tucker" target="_blank">Link to article</a>
“Everyone now knows Kenneth Walker III after Michigan State beat Michigan…The unlikeliest of Heisman candidates now knows who became the first back to rush for five touchdowns against fabled Michigan. So do the rest of us."-Ivan Maisel, On3 (Oct. 30, 2021) | <A HREF="https://www.on3.com/news/kenneth-walker-iii-heisman-michigan-state-beats-michigan/" target="_blank">Link to article</a>
“Walker is not just the best running back in the country. He’s the most important player on an undefeated top-10 team that has surprised just about everyone with its progress in Tucker’s second year. And two months into a strange season in which the Heisman Trophy race has felt wide open, Walker is now the frontrunner.”-Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic (Oct. 30, 2021)
“Kenny Heisman…After this standout performance (vs. Michigan), it’s fair to say that he should be the leader in the clubhouse for the Heisman Trophy.”-Pro Football Focus, which ranks Kenneth Walker III as the highest-graded running back in the FBS as of Nov. 1.
"I loved the pitch that he gave about the culture he's building here...and I was very interested in that. I felt like this was the best place for me."@Kenneth_Walker9 joined @joelklatt to discuss why he decided to transfer to @MSU_Football to play for Coach Tucker pic.twitter.com/emvNtAITPs
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 20, 2021
WATCH KENNETH WALKER III'S RECORD-BREAKING DAY VS. MICHIGAN - AND THE ALL-ACCESS LOOK IN THE LOCKER ROOM FOLLOWING THE GAME: “K9 FOR HEISMAN”
