SAN JOSE, Calif. — Before Kenneth Walker was barreling through NFL defenses with the Seattle Seahawks, he was proving himself as a leading running back at Michigan State and ordering his steaks well done.
Back in East Lansing in 2021, then-Michigan State running backs coach William Peagler hosted a group of players out for dinner. They ventured a few miles off campus, away from the sticky college bars, to the “nice” part of town for a reservation at Capital Prime.
Peagler ordered medium rare, and Walker gave him an earful on “how gross it was.” So, as a coach does, Peagler had Walker try it.
“Randomly, probably a few weeks later, he calls me when he’s at the restaurant,” Peagler said. “And he’s asking, ‘Hey Coach, how do I get my steak?’”
Walker has never been ego-driven. From his steak order to his ascent to a second-round NFL Draft pick in 2022, he’s been coachable. It’s one of the traits Peagler admired most in their one record-setting season together in green and white.
Walker will start for Seattle in Sunday’s Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. It will be the biggest game of his career, and the final one before his rookie contract expires — a fact Walker insists he isn’t thinking about at all.
“I really just want to focus on practicing, getting ready for the game,” Walker said of his contract situation. “After that, we’ll see what happens.”
Coach Mike Macdonald said Monday that “of course” the Seahawks want Walker back, but there’s a Lombardi Trophy on the line first.
“He’s a phenomenal player, he’s a great person, he’s a great teammate,” Macdonald said. “Those are the people we want in our building, those are the people we want as Seahawks. And I’m sure Ken feels the same way.
“Again, those are things we are going to have to worry about, not right now. Those are decisions we’ll make in the future, but he knows how we feel about him, and I think we know how Ken feels about us.”
Walker has hit his stride this postseason, stepping up in the absence of Zach Charbonnet, who tore his ACL in the divisional round.
But Walker has done so relatively quietly. At Super Bowl opening night in San Jose, Walker wasn’t at a podium surrounded by cameras and questions. If you didn’t look for him, you might have missed him standing in the front corner of the room. He enters the Super Bowl as the league leader in postseason rushing touchdowns (four) and ranks third in yards gained (178), but he’s avoided the spotlight. Even on Monday, when talking about his performance in the postseason, he dished the credit out to his teammates.
“The whole offense has been clicking,” Walker said. “O-line made my job a lot easier, we’ve been real detailed. We just have to keep that going into this last game.
“You just gotta take it in and be blessed and happy that you’re in this position.”
When Peagler started to eye Walker in college, the details were what he first noticed. Explosiveness. Patience. Physicality. But one thing kept him skeptical of the Arlington, Tenn., native who spent his first two seasons in the ACC at Wake Forest: Why wasn’t Walker a starter?
“We kept watching (the tape) over and over and over again,” Peagler remembered. “I’m thinking, obviously, I’m wrong. There’s something that’s not right about this guy.”
Regardless, when Walker entered the transfer portal after his sophomore season, Michigan State made a move. From his in-laws’ basement over Christmas break in 2020, Peagler got on a Zoom call and gave Walker his recruiting pitch.
“I knew we weren’t far off,” Peagler said. “I felt like if we could get one or two guys to really spearhead it, we could really take a huge step. … I didn’t realize we were getting this.”
That realization came quickly. On the first play from scrimmage in the Spartans’ season-opener against Northwestern that year, Walker took a handoff and went 75 yards to the end zone, nearly untouched.
William Peagler, who spent two seasons as an Arizona Cardinals assistant, swapped his coach’s shirt for Kenneth Walker’s jersey after a game. (Courtesy of William Peagler)
He continued to be a rolling highlight reel as Michigan State went 11-2, recording its best season in six years. Against Michigan, Walker scored five touchdowns, leading the Spartans to their most recent win in the rivalry, 37-33.
“It’s probably the best performance I’ve ever seen by anybody in person. I mean, I don’t want to take away from anybody else, but that was a really special day,” Peagler said. “And he was the same guy. He never got a big head. … He handled it like a pro. He has always been a pro.”
That season, Walker won the Doak Walker Award (given to the top college football running back) and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award (given to the best college football player as chosen by the FBS head coaches). But one accolade was missing.
A Heisman campaign for Walker to be Michigan State’s first finalist since 1987 came up short. He finished sixth in voting, two spots shy of a trip to New York with C.J. Stroud, Kenny Pickett, Aidan Hutchinson and the winner, Bryce Young. In 58 years of the Walter Camp award, Walker is the only recipient to not be a Heisman finalist.
Walker took a trip back to Michigan State in October 2025 during the Seahawks’ bye week. He recorded it for his YouTube channel, and as he reminisced on his college success, his Doak Walker Award trophy on display caught his eye.
“That’s an award for the best running back of that season. S—, I ended up getting it,” Walker said, before coming up to the camera to whisper: “They didn’t invite me to the Heisman, though.”
During his Heisman campaign, Walker told The Detroit News he wrote down his goals. He still does, he says now, and this year he had two: Make a positive impact on the team “in whatever way I can.” And win the Super Bowl.
That second goal awaits Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, as the Seahawks try to win the second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. Seattle leads the league with a 48.7 percent called run rate under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and Walker could be a difference maker.
But just as he did when he was relegated to No. 2 at Wake Forest, or, some would say, snubbed from the highest honor in college football, Walker will approach it level-headed, with a team-first mentality. Out of the spotlight, until it’s time to make a play.
“He’s getting an opportunity to carry the football late in the year when he’s healthy,” Peagler said. “And I think when he is healthy, he’s one of the best backs in the league.”