FIU Athletics

Derek Walker is in his first season in 2016 as a defensive graduate assistant with the FIU football program. Walker will assist the coaching staff with the Panthers’ defensive line.
 
Walker played his collegiate football and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Illinois in 2008. On the gridiron for the Illini, Walker was a four-year letterwinner and a member of the 2008 Rose Bowl team that faced USC. He was also an honorable mention selection for the All-Big Ten team at the conclusion of the 2008 campaign.
 
Off the field Walker served on the Illinois Student Athlete Advisory Committee where he worked with and discussed issues pertaining to student-athletes with University and athletics administration.
 
Walker spent time in the National Football League with the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers and in the Arena Football League with the Chicago Rush, all at defensive end. He ended his professional playing career in 2015 in the Canadian Football League as a defensive tackle with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.