How Oklahoma DB Kani Walker 'Matured' to Overcome Personal Struggles

Sooners' defensive back Kani Walker has developed into a key member of OU's secondary this year and become even more mature off the field in the process.

Oklahoma defensive back Kani Walker (26) intercepts the ball and is taken down by Temple running back Joquez Smith (24) / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

In his third season at Oklahoma, redshirt junior cornerback Kani Walker has developed into one of the best defenders in the Sooners' secondary.

Walker played sparingly during in his first year in Norman before stepping into a significant role in OU's rotation last year. The former Louisville transfer was decent, but didn't make a noticeable impact for Jay Valai and Oklahoma's cornerback room in 2023.

Over the offseason, however, Walker took a huge step forward, earning praise from his head coach multiple times leading up to the Sooners' 2024 campaign. In Week 1 against Temple, the talented DB earned a spot in the starting lineup and had an impressive performance.

The Douglasville, GA, product logged one interception and one pass breakup against the Owls, catching the ball off of a Kendel Dolby deflection for OU's first interception of the season.

Walker's improvement on the field is only part of how the talented defensive back has grown since he arrived in Norman.

"Focus, mindset, his willingness to show up every day with a competitive tough-mindedness to him. He’s developed high standards for himself, a no-excuse mantra, if you will," Brent Venables said on Tuesday. "He’s grown up a lot. His ability to handle life—and the problems are real; don’t get me wrong. The things that he’s dealt with as a young person, many young people don’t have to go through the things that he did. ... But he’s really just matured and toughened and hardened up and has high standards for himself. He looks at himself, I think, different.

"I think that’s important through that maturation process, and that’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. That’s allowed him to continue to develop his skillset, become a really good corner and, again, us coaches are still going to coach him and correct him, but he’s immediately taken responsibility, knows what he did wrong when those things happen. So, that’s just—again, he’ll continue to get better from the beginning of the year to the end if he continues to have the same hungry, driven, humble, ambitious mindset, which he’s displayed that.”

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

In 2023, however, Walker's snap count jumped to 428 as the lengthy DB earned a spot in Valai's rotation. With starting cornerback Gentry Williams frequently dealing with injuries last season, Walker had plenty of opportunities to be on the field in meaningful situations.

The former Cardinals' defender accumulated 24 tackles, four pass breakups, one interception and one forced fumble as a redshirt sophomore, receiving a career-high 69.3 defensive grade from PFF.

Walker started off the 2024 season with 40 defensive snaps and a 74.2 defensive grade against Temple, showcasing the strides he has made during his time under Venables and Valai.

"I feel like I had a lot of stuff to overcome, like off the field and on the field," Walker said on Monday. "My guys, teammates and coaches, like everybody, helped me with like S.O.U.L. mission and all. And yeah, I mean, it's coming to display. We ain't done. Job's not done. ... Figuring out everything I had to figure out off the field. That was a lot. Like, like I said, I had to mature a lot.

"So everything off the field that I wasn't understanding, like, for example, could be time management or something like that. Like, I feel like everything off the field translates to everything on the field. Shoot, I had some, you know, mental battles I had to face. I had to get over them for myself. And it just helped me keep a clear mind. ... I feel fresh, if that's how I would say. So I feel like that just translates. So like Coach V say, 'how you do anything, how you do everything.' So once everything started to align, it's just kind of like, boom, boom, man. I have my ups and downs, but it's always just straight on.”

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds, Walker has ideal size for an SEC cornerback in addition to the strength and speed to compete with a variety of pass catchers. With good length and speed, Walker needed his first two years in Norman to develop the mental side of the game, but seemingly has started to find his rhythm.

After serving as one of the team's primary cornerbacks last season, Walker should continue to see an even bigger role in 2024. If the redshirt junior defensive back is able to build on his impressive offseason and Week 1 performance, Walker will be a key piece of Oklahoma's defense throughout its inaugural year in the SEC.