Phillip Walker (American football)

Phillip Walker (born February 26, 1995), nicknamed "PJ", is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Temple, from 2013 to 2016.

Early years
Walker was born in 1995 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to parents Tamicha Drake and Phillip Walker, Sr. Phillip attended Elizabeth High School. During his junior year, Walker threw for 2,168 yards and 18 touchdowns, while going 120-of-189 (63.5 percent) in passing percentage. Following the completion of his high school career, Walker chose to attend Temple University, under head coach Matt Rhule.

College career
After accepting an athletic scholarship to attend Temple University, Walker played for coach Matt Rhule's Temple Owls team from 2013 to 2016.

2013 season
Walker began his collegiate career as a backup to Connor Reilly. Walker would eventually earn the starting spot at quarterback in week 6 against Cincinnati, where he would throw his first collegiate touchdown. Walker obtained his first win of his career in week 7 against Army, by a score of 33-14. He would receive his first collegiate weekly award (QB of the week - CFPA - honorable mention) following a 49-59 loss to SMU in week 9. In the final week of the season, Walker earned American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week and was a finalist for the Manning Award. Walker would finish his freshman year having started 7 out of 12 games.

2014 season
Walker's sophomore season did not include as many highlights as his 2013 debut performance; however, Walker did earn career-high completions (29) and pass attempts (49) in a losing effort against Navy in Week 2. Walker was able to secure three honorable mentions during the season (Weeks 1, 2 and 4) and passed for at least 1 touchdown in his first seven games.

2015 season
Walker would start every game in his junior year, becoming only the third person to do so in Owl history. In a rare feat, Walker would both throw for and receive a pass in two, two-point conversion attempts, in Week 8, in a winning effort against UCF. Walker would lead the Owls to a 10-4 overall record (7-1 in conference play), earning a bid to the Boca Raton Bowl in losing effort against the Toledo Rockets by a score of 17-32. He finished the season with a school record 2,972 passing yards and tied the record for total offense (rushing and passing) with 3,179 yards.

2016 season
Walker's final year at Temple was a record-setting season for the senior. In the season opener against Army, Walker became Temple's all-time passing yards leader (10,273 yards). Walker would again lead the Owls to a bowl game at the end of the season, following a 10-4 overall record (7-1 in conference); Walker and the Owls would lose the Military Bowl 26-34 against Wake Forest. Additionally, Walker would receive numerous honors, accolades and watch-list nominations in the 2016 season including, but not limited to: American Athletic Conference Championship Game Most Outstanding Player, CFPA National Player of the Year Watch List, Davey O'Brien Award Watch List, as well as multiple preseason and conference recognitions.

Collegiate records
As of July 2017, Walker is the Owls all-time leader in wins by a starting quarterback (28), passing yards, passing touchdowns, completions, attempts, total yards and total touchdowns. Phillip lead the Owls to their first conference title in 49 years (2016) and their first ever back-to-back bowl appearances in school history (2015 and 2016).

Statistics
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Professional career
Walker was rated the 32nd best quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Indianapolis Colts
On May 3, 2017, Walker was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Colts' practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Colts on January 1, 2018.

On September 1, 2018, Walker was waived by the Colts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He spent time on and off the Colts practice squad before being released on December 26, 2018, but was re-signed three days later. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 13, 2019. Walker was cut by the Colts on August 31st, 2019 and subsequently signed to the team's practice squad the next day.