Kenyatta Walker

Idrees Kenyatta Walker (born February 1, 1979) is a former American college and professional football player who was offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons in the early 2000s. Walker played college football for the University of Florida. A first-round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.

Early years
Walker was born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1979. He attended Meridian High School, where he was a standout high school football player for the Meridian Wildcats. As a senior in 1996, Walker was an all-state selection and received high school All-American honors from PrepStar and USA Today.

College career
Walker received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played on the offensive line for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1998 to 2000, after redshirting in 1997. Walker was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1999 and received first-team All-SEC and second-team All-American honors in 2000, winning the SEC's Jacobs Blocking Trophy as a junior in 2000. After his junior season, Walker decided to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.

After his NFL career ended, Walker returned to Gainesville to complete his degree, graduating from the University of Florida with a bachelor of arts in sociology in 2007.

Awards and honors

 * Knoxville News-Sentinel All-SEC (1998)
 * Football News Freshman All-American (1998)
 * Co-recipient of Gators' Best Effort Award (1999)
 * Second-team All-SEC (1999)
 * Gators' Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman (2000)
 * Consensus first-team All-SEC (2000)
 * Jacobs Blocking Trophy (2000)
 * All-American selection by Associated Press, Sporting News, Football News, Sports Xchange and Walter Camp (2000)
 * Outland Trophy semifinalist (2000)

Professional career
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Walker in first round (fourteenth pick overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft, and he played for the Buccaneers for six seasons from 2001 to 2006. He was originally slated to play left tackle and protect the quarterback's blindside. However, after his rookie season he was switched to right tackle, where he found success, starting at this position for the Buccaneer's Super Bowl XXXVII victory over the Oakland Raiders. After starting in seventy-three of the seventy-five games in which he played, the Buccaneers released Walker on March 1, 2007.

On August 13, 2007, The Carolina Panthers signed Walker as a free agent; he was released by the team on September 1 during final cuts. On September 8, 2008, Walker was signed by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and was assigned to their practice roster.