How Oklahoma RB Tawee Walker Overcame Hard Times and Embraced Hard Coaching
NORMAN — Even Tawee Walker was a little surprised by his inclusion atop the Oklahoma depth chart Tuesday.
“Um, yes and no,” Walker said Tuesday night.
Take it back to 2022, and Walker’s surprise of being listed as the Sooners’ co-starter at running back would be even greater.
He wasn’t sure DeMarco Murray, his position coach, cared much for him.
“Last year I didn’t take it as well,” Walker revealed. “I thought he didn’t like me.
“But he’s just a hell of a coach — uh, I’m sorry for my language — he’s a super good coach and he’s just super hard on me. But it’s worked out perfect. I finally listened to him and just took everything in and transferred it to the field.”
Murray’s old-school, in-your-face coaching style may have rubbed Walker the wrong way after he arrived as a late junior college transfer from Palomar College in California. The 5-foot-9, 215-pound Walker walked on at OU and played in 11 games last year, carrying the football 18 times for 62 yards.
But it wasn’t easy fitting in, even though he and Murray are both from Las Vegas.
Actually, that’s probably why Murray coaches Walker so hard.
“He was just on me,” Walker said. “That’s how he coaches. I just was not used to that. I’m used to being like, just the coach being my best friend, being real cool. Like at my junior college, they never — I was just, could do anything I wanted at my junior college. Here, it’s just the opposite. You have to earn it.
"I was just hard-headed my first year. Just wasn’t ready. Just wasn’t humble. I didn’t take it in. He’s a great coach, I just had to adapt to it and listen to what he said. Because he was never steering me wrong, I just was hard-headed and wasn’t humble enough to understand that last year."
Walker struggled to break into the lineup, but he took coaching from Murray — and from Eric Gray, the OU senior who’s now earning NFL paychecks with the New York Giants.
“I’m coming from a juco, didn’t learn too much, didn’t play too fast,” Walker said. “I learned a lot from Eric Gray. He was a great second coach to me after DeMarco. DeMarco got on me tough. That was the hardest I ever got coached, last year. I had to adapt to that. When I adapted to that, it just made my play so much better.”
Now Walker is listed co-RB1 with senior Marcus Major, another patient senior who’s put in his time and has been coached hard over the years. It was widely assumed that Jovantae Barnes — last year’s No. 2 behind Gray — and Gavin Sawchuk would be 1 and 1A to start the season. But Sawchuk has been nursing an injury, and Barnes had a foot procedure in the spring. Meanwhile, Walker had a tremendous camp.
“He’s been really consistent,” head coach Brent Venables said Tuesday. “Physical. Available, which is your best ability, is availability. He’s just been a guy that you can count on. Really dependable. Tough, physical. Does a lot of the little things right. Plays strong behind his pads. Is always falling forward. So those are the reasons he’s created opportunities for himself.
“And again, we’ve had guys limited here and there. Nothing long-term, but that’s created opportunity for him. He’s taken advantage of it. Not an indictment really on anybody else, other than it’s a statement really to what he’s done with the work he’s put in and his productivity with what he’s been given.”
Walker acknowledged that whether he starts against Arkansas State on Saturday (No. 20 OU hosts the Red Wolves in an 11 a.m. kickoff and is a 34.5-point favorite) or just comes off the bench to get a handful of carries, it’ll be amazing to be on Owen Field with 85,000 of his closest friends.
Just like getting the depth chart news this week was amazing.
“It was a big moment for me,” he said, “especially to tell my parents and my family that. They were very excited to hear that.”
Some of that family will be among the throng on Saturday. Walker said his 2-year-old son and the child’s mother will be in attendance. So will her family, as well as several of his best friends. Walker’s mother, however, will be at a game watching his little brother play at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
“And my father will be at home watching with the whole family back home,” he said.
“They’re gonna be just as excited as I am. They’ve seen it all. My family has seen the journey I’ve been through, and they’re just gonna hope I capitalize on my journey, just like myself.”
