Star embarks on promising CIS career
POTENTIAL: Versatile athlete Jesse Walker of Mission plans to suit up with the Manitoba Bisons in the fall
This past season, Jesse Walker played the role of an option quarterback to near perfection, carrying his Mission Roadrunners all the way to the 2014 Subway Bowl B.C. Double A football championship game.
So impressive was his combination of instinct and athleticism that his soon-to-be new coach with the University of Manitoba Bisons welcomed him to the fold with a pretty unique option.
“He told me that I could play wherever I fit best,” Walker explained of the offer made by longtime Bisons coach Brian Dobie.
“Offence or defence. So I am going to play wide receiver. I like defence, but I like to have the ball in my hands. I love to make plays.”
Unable to find the U.S. offer that made sense to him, the provincial Double A player of the year somehow eluded the recruiting net of both UBC and SFU to land in Winnipeg, where this fall he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Bisons superstar slotback Nic Demski, expected to be one of the top picks in the 2015 CFL draft.
“I really want to follow in Demski’s footsteps,” the six-foot, 195-pound Walker said. “I’ve already reached out to him to get on the same diet plan, and I have asked him to mentor me. When I said ‘let’s have lunch’ he said ‘no problem.’ ”
That alone tells you that Walker isn’t headed east to simply contribute within the roster of the Canada West program, but to emerge as one of its offensive linchpins.
And if you followed Walker’s exploits over the past few seasons at the high school level, you know that a Bisons program littered with B.C. recruits got an absolute steal with their most recent signing.
“I keep before-and-after pictures of the amount of change the players go through, from young kids to the men they become in Grade 12,” said Mission coach Danny Jakobs.
“And Jesse’s transformation was incredible.”
A newcomer to the sport in eighth grade, Walker finished his senior season with a flourish after Jakobs installed a triple-option offence, named Walker the starting pivot, and then watched him carry 183 times for 1,968 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Most eye-popping of all during his senior season?
You can start with 10.8 yards-percarry, but you have to finish by referencing his amazing 338 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in Mission’s 62-61 Subway Bowl semifinal win over Ballenas.
On the season, Walker accounted for 3,226 all-purpose yards and scored 43 touchdowns.
After leading Mission’s JV team to the B.C. title in 2012 as a 10th grade quarterback, Walker shifted to slot as a pass catcher in Grade 11, but still stood under centre for read-option snaps.
Whether it was in the return game, in the defensive secondary, or at quarterback, Walker was a threat to score six on virtually every play.
“It’s all about scoring points and he gives you that dimension on every touch,” Jakobs continued. “When I watch (UBC’s) Marcus Davis, you think that every time he touches the ball he can go all the way. I put Jesse in the same boat. With him, anything can happen. The next level is going to require a lot of commitment, but I have no doubt he will put the work in and have a great CIS career. I totally expect that he will be playing in the CFL one day.”