Belief in P.J. Walker permeates Panthers’ locker room. History shows why
.JPG "Panthers quarterback PJ Walker throws a pass during the game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, October 24, 2021 in Rutherford, NJ. Walker was brought in to replace starting quarterback Sam Darnold during the fourth quarter. The Panthers, who did not score a single touchdown, lost to the Giants, 24-3. This is the Panthers fourth straight loss after a 3-0 start to the season.")
Matt Rhule remembers the first time he had dinner with P.J. Walker.
Walker and a couple of high school teammates met Rhule as part of a recruiting trip. It was 2012 and Rhule had recently accepted the head coaching position at Temple University. The Owls were coming off a 4-7 season. Rhule — not yet known as a program-builder — knew he needed a winner at quarterback.
Prior to their sit-down, Walker proved he was exactly that.
Quarterbacking Elizabeth High School in the New Jersey Sectional Championship, Walker led a three-play, 99-yard, game-winning drive versus Piscataway — the team that beat Elizabeth a year prior in the title game. Walker pulled off the win with no timeouts. Unaware that Rhule was in the stands, he avenged his junior season finish, winning 37-33.
After the game, Rhule noticed something that told him more about Walker than his last-second championship heroics.
“I remember sitting there and the whole time, all they talked about was the year before and the one that they didn’t get and how much that ate at them,” Rhule said. “And that’s, to me, that’s a sign of a winner. Right? Like, yeah, this one’s great, but the ones that you don’t get drive you nuts.”
It was clear that Walker possessed natural winning attributes. His title-game performance included 257 yards passing, four total touchdowns and 199 yards rushing. Elizabeth went undefeated that season for the first time since 1989. It was a fitting bookend to a legendary high school career.
Rhule and Walker have been tied to each other ever since.
Walker lettered all four years at Temple. He became the first Owls quarterback to lead his team to multiple bowl games and left as the program’s all-time leader in pass attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdown passes and total offense.
Despite all that success, he went undrafted by the NFL and spent three years on and off the Colts roster before a brief but impressive stint in the XFL. Then Rhule offered him an opportunity in Carolina.
Last season, he backed up Teddy Bridgewater and started in a Week 11 win against Detroit. This year he has relieved starter Sam Darnold in back-to-back weeks.
And for the first time since his Temple days, the 26-year-old Walker is taking first-team reps as Darnold works through the concussion protocol.
After Panthers practice on Thursday, Walker reminisced on his high school days when asked about his championship drive.
“We lost a close game the year before to the same team,” Walker said. “It was 34-31 with a minute 30 left and we got a stop on the 1-yard line. We drove the ball downfield, three plays, 99 yards to win the state championship. But that’s old news.”
That’s exactly it. Walker’s state championship, his hall of fame career at Temple and the relationship with Rhule don’t guarantee him anything. Whether or not he starts on Sunday against New England, he’ll have to prove he belongs in the NFL.
Rhule and his teammates are sure he can.
“I don’t think there’s a guy in the locker room that doesn’t believe in him,” Rhule said. “With, of course, a full game and the whole game plan and practice reps for this week. I believe that he could do a really nice job for us.”
TEMPLE TIES
“Yeah, we were teammates at Temple,” Panthers receiver Keith Kirkwood said of Walker. “That’s my guy.”
Kirkwood lights up when talking about his time with the Owls when he and Walker bonded over three memorable seasons. Their experiences together carved out a friendship that extends beyond football. Kirkwood shared precious on-field moments with Rhule and Walker that he’ll forever carry. It’s the foundation of their belief in one another.
In 2016, Kirkwood and Walker combined for two plays that changed Temple football history. On a mid-October night, a then 4-3 Temple stunned UCF by scoring 13 unanswered points. Walker and Kirkwood connected on an 8-yard touchdown pass as time expired to win.
“We sometimes talk about it, that game, and that’s kind of what brought us all here,” Kirkwood said. “If we don’t win that game against UCF with that catch right before the end of the game, I won’t be sitting here talking to you. But that’s P.J. — he has always trusted me.”
It’s a remarkable play to revisit. Walker completed a 26-yard pass from UCF’s 36-yard line with under 15 seconds in the game. With no timeouts, the Owls hustled to the line. Football logic says to spike the ball, but Rhule and Walker had other plans.
Kirkwood lined up in the slot and knew a play was coming. He worked vertically against his defender, separated from him in the end zone and climbed for a pass Walker placed high and inside. Kirkwood caught it inbounds. Game over.
Temple won five straight games after that and met Navy in the American Athletic Conference championship. Once again, Walker’s belief in Kirkwood paid off. Kirkwood ignited a first-half offensive explosion against the Midshipmen by catching a 13-yard pass from Walker on a fourth-and-7.
However, the Owls only faced fourth down because Kirkwood dropped a pass on the previous play.
“It was third-and-8, we ran a play called Y-climb. I was at the Y so I went over the first backer, jumped over to the second backer and (Walker) hit me right in the hole and I dropped it,” Kirkwood said. “Coach Rhule called a timeout. We come to the sideline and I remember Rhule was like, ‘Run that play again.’ And P.J. told me he was going right back to me.”
Walker’s belief resulted in a completion. Temple scored on the next play. Two series later, Kirkwood hauled in a 56-yard post route for six. Temple led 24-3 at halftime and went on to win its first AAC title.
“That connection we had translates here. When I’m on the practice squad and he’s giving the defense scout looks, he just finds me. It’s just that connection me and him have,” Kirkwood said. “He’s an amazing guy on the field and off the field. His work ethic in the building and the practice field, he’s just always finding ways to get better. That’s why he’s been able to sustain in this league.”
FINDING HIS PLACE IN CAROLINA
After Temple, Rhule and Walker went their separate ways. Rhule accepted the head coaching job at Baylor while Walker was not selected in the 2017 NFL draft. He was a practice squad player for the Indianapolis Colts for three years but never cracked the active roster.
Then an opportunity arose. The XFL launched and Walker signed with the Houston Roughnecks.
“Being able to show that I can do it consistently was important to me,” Walker said. “I take pride in it, and it was something that I just felt like I needed to do as a player. I really wanted to get the film, too. I was out there trying to make the throws to show these guys I can play. It was all about the opportunity, and when given the chance you have to take full advantage of it.”
He quickly became an XFL star, once again proving capable of quarterbacking at a high level. The Roughnecks went 5-0 with Walker. He led the league in passing yards (1,338) and touchdowns (15) before the pandemic ended its season.
Rhule and Walker stayed in touch. Their bond seeded from that unforgettable section championship night, blossomed at Temple and carried through graduation.
They are so close that Rhule flips between calling him P.J. or Phillip, depending on the situation. When Walker entered last Sunday’s game against Atlanta, he nearly threw a goal-line interception. The Panthers led by two with six minutes to play. Carolina had it at the 1-yard line and called a play-action pass. Walker scrambled right and couldn’t find an open target. He pump-faked, avoided a sack and spotted Kirkwood crossing late. He threw a dangerous pass across his body and inside toward coverage. The ball was deflected and nearly picked.
Rhule yelled at Walker and later used the play as a teaching point this week at practice.
“It’s a mom thing, to be honest. It’s P.J. when things are going good, and when they aren’t going too good it’s Phillip,” Walker said. “I understood why he yelled. I have to make a better decision. That was a Phillip moment.”
Near disasters like that are why Walker’s status as an NFL quarterback might come into question from those outside of Carolina. But confidence from his teammates doesn’t waiver. The Panthers believe in Walker because so many in the building have seen him succeed at every level.
“Being old teammates (at Temple) and knowing what he’s capable of, I’d love to have the opportunity to see P.J. spin,” Haason Reddick said. “I have full confidence in P.J. I’ve always thought of him as a great player, even when I watched him on the sidelines at Temple. It felt like the old days watching him work.”
Walker enters Sunday with a chance to prove his supporters right. He innately instills hope in others and, in return, feeds off that same energy. But faith isn’t worth any points on Sundays. Touchdowns are a result of preparation intersecting with execution.
Walker sounds ready. Sunday culminates a week he believed would eventually happen, to go from a backup to the No. 1 quarterback.
“As a backup, you prepare for the unknown every week. You never know what is going to happen. You gotta always stay ready and be ready,” Walker said. “That’s something I take pride in — always being ready for my number to be called, staying sharp and doing good things for the offense.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
