Eskimos receiver Derel Walker named CFL’s most outstanding rookie

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Derel Walker's days of flying under the radar are likely over.

He was a high school football player no one recruited. He was a junior college walk-on, and then a transfer at Texas A&M who quietly made catches in the shadow of flashy quarterback Johnny Manziel. Finally, this summer, he was a rookie free agent left sitting on the Edmonton Eskimos' practice squad.

On Thursday, Walker accepted the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie award after tallying more receiving yards in his condensed season than most receivers did all year. This Sunday, he'll be a key weapon for the Eskimos when they battle the Ottawa RedBlacks for the Grey Cup. Not bad for a guy who took a chance in an open tryout camp last spring and then exploded with a mid-summer opportunity.

Walker grew up in the small Central Texas town of Hillsboro. He was an undersized high school player who didn't garner any big accolades beyond the local newspapers in the football-mad state. He walked on at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas during the fall of 2010. Two solid seasons followed as he grew three inches to where he stands today at 6-foot-2.

Texas A&M invited him to transfer in 2012, so he left for the biggest house in the Southeastern Conference – Kyle Stadium, capacity 102,000 – and a chance to run routes for 'Johnny Football', the most electrifying college QB of the moment.

Walker's first year for the Aggies was quiet, but he had more of an impact in 2013. He caught the last touchdown pass Manziel ever threw in college – a 44-yarder in a dramatic 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl victory over Duke – part of a six-catch day for Walker in which he amassed 113 yards.

"You have to get the coaches' trust, the quarterbacks trust, make them believe you're not going to go out there and mess up, and I did that," said Walker. "They have to have faith in you that you're going to come down with the ball."

In March of 2014, Walker had a cameo in the most hyped college pro day ever staged. Manziel was the big attraction as NFL scouts came from far and wide to watch him workout, celebrities like George Bush came for a look. Manziel threw 64 passes that were scrutinized by analysts and watched by the masses on YouTube, and Walker was among the receivers catching for him.

Manziel was chosen by the Cleveland Browns and began a so-far rocky NFL career, but his friend Walker went undrafted. The receiver got a brief pre-season chance with the Tennessee Titans in 2014 before being cut. He was crushed, wasn't sure if a life in pro football would happen for him.

His agent mentioned an open tryout in Dallas for the Edmonton Eskimos. He had to look Edmonton up – had no idea where that was. Then he shelled out the $200 tryout fee and went for it.

"I didn't know what to expect from the CFL, I just knew I had a three hour drive to Dallas and we were out there all day," said Walker, standing in a new suit in the press conference room after accepting his award in Winnipeg, posing and smiling with it for photographers. "Then I drove three hours back home. It was all worth it."

He eventually got invited up to Alberta for training camp. He was relegated to Edmonton's practice squad, where they developed him quickly. In August, they activated him to fill in for the injured Adarius Bowman, last year's CFL-leading receiver.

He had 10 catches for 125 yards in his first game. His second was an even better 14 for 183. He finished the regular season with 89 catches (a CFL rookie record) – for 1,110 yards and six touchdowns. Although he only played 12 of 18 games, his yardage still ranked him fifth in the league, first in yards per game.

"The coaches believed in me," he said. "And I got [quarterback] Mike Reilly's trust."

He led all receivers in last week's West Final victory over the Calgary Stampeders, the highlight a 57-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown that left sprawling defensive back Brandon McDonald in the dust.

"I've always been confident in myself," said Walker. "So I knew I could play here."