Against his mother’s wishes Louisiana all-state quarterback David Walker turns down a scholarship offer from his family’s beloved LSU to play for their longtime patsy rivals, the Texas A&M Aggies. The down-trodden Aggies are now being coached by the Father of the Wishbone, Emory Bellard, and have begun recruiting black athletes to its football team. Spirits are high in Aggieland in the mid-70’s.
Br> Elevating himself from last on the depth chart to being honored as the conference’s freshman of the year at the tender age of 17, Walker gets the idea he is there to stay as the Aggies have their first winning season in 15 years. Unfortunately, two late losses and a serious shoulder injury (suspiciously “misdiagnosed” by the medical staff) cost his team the SWC championship and David his job after his sophomore season.
Br> Benched, indignified and ultimately forced out of Texas A&M by the Aggie coaching staff a year later, Walker heads back home to Louisiana, a crushed young man whose major college career appears all but over. It seems he has become one of the biggest “Aggie jokes” of all-time as those back at the “Home of the 12th Man” further malign him or forget his name altogether. Number 8 was a choker, a loser…a flash in the pan. Little would anyone know, however, this fight wasn’t yet over, not by a long shot.
Br> Walker admits that the hidden truths of this amazing story and the extent of vilification he was subjected to were never personally released to members of the media for fear of retaliation by his coaching staff. Only now has he had the opportunity to put into words his memories of a college life spent on the edge, one completely unlike 100% of other college students. David tells a uniquely heartfelt, emotional story as no one but an individual from Cajun Country can - an intriguing story of vision, faith, despair, perseverance and grit.
Br> While he can’t promise his reader the proverbial happy ending, this personal narrative laying out such an inspirational journey grips his readers right up to the final page. As many of the book reviews mention, it’s scarcely a tale only about “football,” and has great appeal to any person who relishes seeing injustices corrected and impossible, far-fetched comebacks occur when ALL hope is lost. David Walker is the only college-level quarterback to ever publish a book based on his experiences in amateur athletics, and remains the youngest starting college athlete on record. Enjoy the flavor of Southwest Louisiana and the adopted Texas swagger in his unique voice as he takes you down a one-of-a-kind path you could never imagine possible in the modern world of college football.