Bears senior linebacker David Walker has already cemented his name as one of the greatest players to ever walk the stripes.

Walker grew up in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and he said, “There is nothing like playing football in Stuttgart.” 

“I miss high school football — Friday night lights, you can’t beat those, especially in my hometown — I wish I could go back, but I can’t, ” Walker said. 

In his senior year of high school, Walker suffered an unfortunate setback due to a torn ACL. 

Before the injury, Walker said he had schools such as Arkansas State looking at him, but after the injury, he decided to start his career at Southern Arkansas University. 

“As a kid, everyone dreams of going D1 and playing at the highest level — But my route was a little different because of the detour that I had with my ACL— I had to take the small school route to get to the big school, so I don’t regret any of it, ” Walker said. 

He said there have been a lot of people in his life who have inspired him, but his mother has been “a big factor.” 

“Growing up, seeing all of the sacrifices she’s made and all of the things that she’s done for me and my brothers so we can be in the position that we are today, I can’t thank her enough,” Walker said.

 In his short stint at SAU, Walker played in 11 games, tallied 52 total tackles and 19.5 tackles-for-loss, as well as eight sacks. 

After SAU, he transferred to UCA to play for coach Nathan Brown and the Bears. 

Walker said Brown has been a “big advocate” and has “always been honest to me.” 

“He keeps me humble,” Walker said. “He’s gonna be the first one to tell me that I need to do better and he will be the first person to tell me that I’m doing good — having those types of people around you helps a lot,” Walker said. 

After transferring to UCA, it didn’t take long for people to know his name. 

In his first season as a Bear, Walker put up 66 total tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss and 12 sacks. 

His 2023 season was similar, tallying 57 tackles, with 22 of them being a loss of yardage and 8.5 sacks. 

So far in his 2024 season, he has racked up 49 tackles, with 18.5 being a loss of yardage and 9 sacks. 

2024 has been a year of milestones for Walker, and on homecoming, two more milestones were achieved. 

During the Oct. 26 homecoming matchup against North Alabama, Walker broke the school record for the most tackles-for-losses in a career at UCA with 54.5. The record originally belonged to UCA alum defensive end Jonathan Woodard. 

Walker said he “is glad to be acknowledged with some of the best that came through at UCA.” But he “is big on his faith” and “likes to stay humble.”  

Walker’s next step is to pursue his dream and go play in the NFL.