Goal No. 7: GREAT EFFORT.

#7 Eli Walker

True Senior | 6-2 | 202 lbs. | Long Beach, California

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Defensive Back
• Previous College: Cerritos College
• Projection: Starter
• Status: On Scholarship

Elijah Walker (b. Nov. 23, 1997) is a physical defensive back who showed flashes coming from the community college ranks and now will compete for a starting job at safety in 2018.

Walker transferred to K-State from Cerritos College in California, which also produced fellow two-deep contributors D.J. Reed and Ray Price.

He played in 11 games, with starts against Oklahoma, Iowa State and UCLA; totaled 21 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack; and had a season-best six stops against the Cyclones and four against the Sooners, a game that also featured one of his sacks.

Walker played both defensive back and wide receiver for one season under head coach Luis Hayes at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, California. He earned first-team all-league honors for the Jaguars and was selected to play in the 2015 605 All-Star Game.

Walker then played two seasons for the Falcons under head coach Frank Mazzotta.

He was rated the top community college safety in the Class of 2017 and the 13th-best overall community college prospect by Scout after picking up first-team Southern California Football Association All-Northern League honors as a sophomore.

Walker ended his community college career with 117 tackles, four tackles for loss, four interceptions and 10 passes defended.

He had a career-high-tying 11 tackles as a sophomore against Fullerton, while he had a 21-yard interception return touchdown at Bakersfield later in the season.

Walker also recorded nine tackles and three tackles for loss against Los Angeles Valley, picked off a pass in his first career game in 2015 at Saddleback, and also came up with interceptions against Moorpark and College of the Canyons later in his freshman campaign.