Herschel Walker

Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons.

He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia.

Walker played college football at the University of Georgia, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior.

He played for the Johnson County Trojans high school football team from 1976 to 1979.

In his senior year, he rushed for 3,167 yards, helping the Trojans win their first state championship.

He was awarded the inaugural Dial Award as 1979 national high school scholar-athlete of the year.

Walker also competed on the Trojans track and field team in events ranging from the 100-yard dash to the shot put.

He won the shot put, 100-yard dash, and 220-yard dash events at the Georgia High School Association T&F State Championships.

He also anchored the 4×400 team to victory.

During his freshman season in 1980, Walker set the NCAA freshman rushing record which was later broken by Taylor.

Walker finished third in Heisman voting.

Walker was the first "true freshman" to become a first-team All-American.

As a freshman, he played a major role in helping Georgia go undefeated and win the de facto national championship with a victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.

Walker played running back and ran on the track and field team for the University of Georgia, where he was a three-time unanimous All-American (football and track), and winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award.

He is the first NCAA player who played only three years to finish in the top 10 in rushing yards, a mark later tied by Jonathan Taylor.

Walker signed with the New Jersey Generals in 1983, owned by Oklahoma oil tycoon J. Walter Duncan, who after the 1983 season sold the team to Donald Trump.

Walker attracted only one major promotional offer, a joint project of McDonald's and Adidas.

He spent the first three seasons of his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) and was the league's MVP during its final season in 1985.

The Dallas Cowboys, aware of Walker's earlier interest in playing for them, acquired Walker's NFL rights by selecting him in the fifth round (114th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft.

After the USFL folded, Walker joined the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, earning consecutive Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors from 1987 to 1988.

In 1989, Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, which is regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history and credited with establishing the Cowboys' dynasty of the 1990s.

He was later a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants before retiring with the Cowboys.

Outside of football, Walker was a member of the United States' bobsleigh team at the 1992 Winter Olympics and pursued business ventures in food processing.

Walker was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 1999, Walker was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

In his 2008 autobiography, Walker wrote that he was the Beta Club president and class valedictorian at Johnson County High School.

In December 2021, Walker's Senate campaign website claimed he graduated as the valedictorian of the entire high school, but CNN found no evidence for this claim.

The claim on Walker's website was later removed and amended to state that Walker graduated high school "top of his class".

Starting in 2017, Walker has made the false claim that he had graduated from University of Georgia "in the top 1% of his class".

In fact, he did not graduate, and left college to join the USFL.

He did not return to complete his degree.

In December 2021, Walker's Senate campaign website deleted the assertions about his education after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution inquired about it, with Walker acknowledging in a statement that he left the university prior to graduation to play professional football.

Walker later falsely asserted he never said he graduated from the university.

From 2019 to 2020, he served as a co-chair on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition under President Donald Trump.

Walker launched his first political campaign in Georgia's 2022 Senate election, which he lost to incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock.

Walker was born in Augusta, Georgia, to Willis and Christine Walker.

He was raised in Wrightsville, Georgia.

He was one of seven children.

Walker said that as a child, he was overweight and had a stutter.

Walker attended Johnson County High School in Wrightsville, where he played football, basketball, and competed in track.