Herschel Walker
Herschel Walker, nicknamed “the goal line stalker” by Dan Magill may have been the greatest Bulldog ever when it came to goal line stalking. He also may have been the best when it comes to accentuating the positive. He is a proponent of that axiom, “If you can’t say anything good about somebody, say nothing at all.”
He always sounded like a coach who never said a negative word about an opponent and was always deflecting profuse praise in his direction to his teammates. I had a conversation with the late Tom Landry at his office in Dallas when he was still coaching the Cowboys. He had planned to rebuild the Cowboy dynasty with Herschel being the centerpiece of an offense that featured Herschel running the ball. “If we can find a way,” Landry said, “to get him past the line of scrimmage there is no telling how explosive our offense can be.”
When the Canadian Football League made a stir following Herschel’s freshman year about signing a pro contract, he listened but said no with this sobriquet: “It doesn’t make any sense to grow up in one country and then play football in another.”
In 1982 when Herschel won the Heisman trophy, several of us went to New York early for the Heisman announcement. I accompanied him to the ABC studios where he was interviewed by Joan Lunden on Good Morning America. When she presented all his impressive statistics, especially his cumulative rushing yards, she asked if he got tired doing all that running. He replied, “No mam, the ball ain’t so heavy.”
It was Herschel who always complimented his offensive line even to the extent that he said they should have been elected to the Hall of Fame, too, when he was selected for that honor. A worthy assessment for sure, but not likely to ever come about. His linemen, however, thought it was a brilliant idea.
The thumbnail of his journey to a sheepskin: Some of his coursework was done online, but the bulk of his work was done on campus. He was eager, when the journey was finished, to compliment his professors. He enjoyed walking the campus with classmates, which led him to exclaim, “I really didn’t know how pretty it was.” He and his wife Julie are avid bike riding enthusiasts, and they often cycled through the campus on pretty spring and fall days.
As a member of the prestigious Horatio Alger Association, Herschel serves on its scholarship selection committee, helping the association select deserving students to receive scholarships to pursue graduate degrees. The association’s beneficiaries give the program high marks, and participating in this rewarding process inspired Herschel to return to UGA to complete his own studies, having left the university in his junior year to play professional football.
Like everything he does, Herschel was determined to do his best. He didn’t want to just get by: he wanted to excel. He wanted to make A’s. When he came back to campus in 2023, he did that—all A’s, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average in all 18 courses he took from his first semester back until graduation, landing on the President’s list each term. He took a “first to in the classroom and the last to leave” approach. He has always had a kind word for the University of Georgia, but he became almost evangelical when he came back and completed degree requirements in the last couple of years.
To achieve his graduate objective, he spent a lot of time on the computer, of course, but found the classroom experience exhilarating. He loved interacting with his classmates, impressed with their intelligence and creativity, and was transfixed by his professors’ lectures, “I was motivated, happy even, to do the work I needed to do, and it was inspiring to work with these bright, enthusiastic students and professors every day. It also made me pleased to live up to the commitment I made to my mother many years ago.”
When he waxes philosophically, he allows that “earning his degree is as important as anything I have ever done.” This is coming from a three time all-America running back who won the Heisman Trophy in 1982, a man who holds 41 records at Georgia and 16 in the SEC—one who gained 5,259 yards in college and 8,225 rushing yards as a professional.
He talks to current UGA athletes about the importance of making a degree a priority. He still does 100 pushups a day and stays in peak physical condition. While serving 15 years in the Patriot Support Program, Walker visited over 400 military bases advocating for mental health, stressing the importance of self-care. Ever the patriot, he enjoys testifying that he “loves this country.”
His chicken business remains one of the largest minority businesses in Food Service, but has at times reminded him about the deceit of mankind. When he hosted food shows around the country, people would sign up for an order of his products, allowing them to have their photo taken with him; the next day, many would cancel the order. He still does not watch himself on TV and does not read what is written about him, even the most flattering of pieces.
Of being voted into the Circle of Honor, he says it “is nice” to be elected to this select group. Ever grateful, he prefers to talk about the great athletes already chosen before him and nothing about himself. Unaware that earning his degree – something he has done to inspire others and fulfill a long-standing personal goal and commitment to his mother made him eligible to join the Circle of Honor, he remains appreciative of the recognition, but deflects, turning the focus to how education is the key to opportunity. He is eager to testify to the intrinsic values of the learning experience. “Education,” he says, “is the equalizer. You have to have an open mind. You have to take advantage of so many smart people on our college campuses. I feel so fortunate to have had the experience I have had.”
As he awaits Senate confirmation for his appointment by President Trump as Ambassador to The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, No. 34 has his degree from the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and is happy to sing the praises of a faculty that accompanied him on his journey to reach fulfillment of a long-standing goal.
His journey is a study in perseverance. That has always been the Herschel Walker way.
