Michigan State Football: Kenneth Walker III must be considered in Heisman race

There were players this offseason that were named Heisman Trophy favorites but after their first game, some seem like more hype than substance. One player with virtually no Heisman hype showed in his first game that he needs to be considered for the prestigious trophy.

Some media publications had Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler and Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei as their two top Heisman hopefuls. Other outlets had other quarterbacks like Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and North Carolina’s Sam Howell as strong contenders to win the Heisman Trophy in 2021. Very few publications and media sites had a non-quarterback as a strong and viable Heisman candidate for the 2021 season.

One player, however, made his name known on a nationally televised game on ESPN and based solely on his on-the-field performance, deserves to be mentioned in the Heisman conversation.

With few exceptions, not many writers, media outlets, and sports television personalities gave Michigan State football’s Kenneth Walker III much hype and or praise heading into the 2021 season.

Walker, a running back who played at Wake Forest last season prior to transferring to Michigan State, was considered an under-the-radar player nationally.

The Spartans opened up their season on the road against the defending Big Ten West champion Northwestern and Walker was not listed as the starting running back because the Spartans don’t release their depth chart prior to games. Michigan State entered the game as underdogs and Walker was playing his first game in a Spartan uniform. Many fans, media, and even Michigan State alums did not anticipate what type of performance Walker would have.

After the opening kickoff and on the first offensive play of the game, Walker took the handoff and sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown and his night was only beginning as he would have an outstanding individual performance against the Wildcats.

After Northwestern missed a field goal on their first offensive possession of the game and on the second offensive drive for Michigan State, Walker would cap off a drive with a three-yard touchdown run after a 23-yard run to the Wildcats’ three-yard line. Later in the first half, Mel Tucker gave sophomore running back Jordon Simmons some reps and carries that lead to him scoring on a 14-yard catch and run. Walker didn’t even play the whole first half at running back and still put up impressive numbers.

In the second half, Walker extended Michigan State’s lead when he scored his third touchdown of the game to give the Spartans an impressive and commanding 28-7 lead. After two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Northwestern, Walker came back into the game after an injury to Michigan State running back Harold Joiner and would show why he truly deserves Heisman consideration.

Walker had a 30-yard run to the Wildcats’ six-yard line and on the next play, he got into the end zone for the fourth touchdown of the game. He deserves and more importantly, earned the right to be mentioned in the Heisman conversation moving forward.

Walker averaged 11.5 yards a carry to go along with his 264 yards rushing in Michigan State’s upset win over Northwestern.

Until the Spartans lose a game and barring any injuries to him, Walker deserves to be a top 10 Heisman candidate entering Week 2. He should have another dominant game against Youngstown State next week and will have an opportunity to showcase his talents in another nationally televised game against No. 14 ranked Miami on the road in Michigan State’s third game.

While current Heisman hopefuls like Howell, who threw three interceptions in a loss to Virginia Tech, and Stroud — who had only a QBR rating of 85.6 — struggling, Walker deserves Heisman candidate mention after his amazing performance on the field of play.