How Oklahoma DB Kani Walker ‘Mature’ to Overcome Personal Struggles

Walker’s progress on the field is just part of how the talented defender has developed since arriving in Norman.

“Focus, attitude, willingness to show up every day with a competitive edge. He’s developed a high standard, a no-excuses mantra, if you will.” Brent Venables he said Tuesday. “He’s grown a lot. His ability to deal with life — and the problems are real; don’t get me wrong. The things he had to deal with as a young man, a lot of young people don’t have to go through what he did. … But he’s really just matured and hardened and toughened up and has high standards for himself. I think he looks at himself differently.

“I think that’s important in that maturation process, and it’s allowed him to show up every day and just do the basics at a really high level, day in and day out, and not get bored with it. It’s allowed him to develop his skills, become a really good cornerback, and again, we coaches will continue to coach him and correct him, but he’s taken responsibility immediately, he knows what he did wrong when those things happen. So it’s just — again, he’s going to continue to improve from the beginning of the year to the end if he continues to have that same hungry, determined, humble, ambitious mindset that he’s shown.”

Walker transferred to OU after spending the 2021 season at Louisville, coming to Norman just months after Venables was hired as the Sooners’ head coach. In his first year with the team, Walker played just 65 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

Walker’s snap count jumped to 428 in 2023 as the long DB earned a spot in Valai’s rotation. With starting cornerback Nobleman Williams Walker struggled with injuries last season, which gave him plenty of opportunities to get on the field in big situations.

The former Cardinals linebacker had 24 tackles, four pass interceptions, one interception and one forced fumble as a sophomore, earning a career-high 69.3 defensive grade from PFF.

Walker began the 2024 season with 40 saves and a 74.2 defensive rating against Temple, showing the progress he has made under Venables and Valai.

“I feel like I had a lot of things to overcome, both off the field and on the field,” Walker said Monday. “My teammates, my teammates and my coaches, like everybody, helped me with the SOUL mission and everything. And yeah, I mean, it’s showing. We’re not done yet. The work is not done. … Figuring out everything I had to figure out off the field. It was a lot. Like I said, I had to mature a lot.

“So everything off the field that I didn’t understand, like time management or something like that. I feel like everything off the field translates to everything on the field. Hell, I had some, you know, mental battles that I had to deal with. I had to overcome them myself. And it just helped me keep my head clear. … I feel fresh, so to speak. So I feel like it just translates. So like Coach V says, ‘how you do anything, how you do everything.’ So when everything started falling into place, it was just like, boom, boom, man. I have my ups and downs, but it’s always just simple.”