It’s been quite some time since Northwestern has seen a star of this caliber.
To his coaches, he’s a dream. To his teammates, a goofball. To scouts, a top-tier physical specimen. To Northwestern’s marketing department, he’s “The Franchise.” To opposing offenses, he’s a nightmare.
But to one of his high school football coaches, he’s a beloved son.
Indeed, perhaps the most revealing aspect of Anthony Walker Jr.’s story isn’t his rise from three-star recruit to All-American and potential first-round NFL draft choice—a narrative heard quite often in sports. It’s the story of a father and son whose special bond has facilitated Walker Jr.’s sudden ascension through the football ranks.
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Before all else, Anthony Walker Sr. is a football coach.
During Walker Jr.’s junior year at Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, Northwestern defensive line coach Marty Long met with Walker Sr., the football team’s offensive coordinator. Long was recruiting Walker Jr., a three-star linebacker, to play at Northwestern.
He knew that Walker Sr. was one of Walker Jr.’s coaches, but he was oblivious to the fact that the two were father and son.
“Coach Long met with my dad first,” Walker said. “When they were done he asked my dad, ‘Can I see Anthony Walker?’ My dad called me out of class. We met, and when I was leaving the meeting I was like, ‘Alright dad, I’ll see you later.’
“Coach Long asked my dad, ‘That’s your son? Why didn’t you say that?’ And my dad was like, ‘I’m a coach first.’”
Having been Walker Jr.’s coach for some time, Walker Sr. has had years to perfect the double duty of coaching and parenting. He and Walker Jr.’s mom, Michelle Daniels, separated before Anthony was born (Walker Jr. has four sisters on his mom’s side and a brother on his dad’s). Since he was two, he and his dad lived alone under the same roof, with his dad raising him as a single parent.
“Everyone knows that my dad is my guy,” Walker Jr. said. “He’s my best friend. He’s had a big role in me growing as a man and as a football player.”
Walker Jr. calls his dad every day — he hasn’t missed a day since college started. And for a busy college student juggling a rigorous academic schedule with a demanding Division I football schedule, that’s not so simple.
“I dropped him off at school freshman year and I was like, ‘Okay, let me know how it goes,’” Walker Sr. said. “He told me, ‘I’ll call you every day. I promise I’ll call you every day.’”
Walker Sr. attended six of his son’s games last year — and he’ll go to just about every one this year. Given that he lives in Miami, it’s quite a feat.
The relationship between the two has a certain duality to it. Walker Sr. was his son’s coach from an early age, giving Walker Jr. the chance to learn the game at a rapid pace. Walker Jr. started playing tackle football when he was 4, competing against kids going up to eight years old.
“I was blessed to have my dad as a coach,” Walker Jr. said. “We kept it coach-player on the field, and off the field, back to dad again. He was hard on me just like the other players. Thanks to him, I was able to learn football concepts really quickly. And that kind of made our relationship grow into what it is now — it’s far beyond football.”
Like Walker Jr. said, his relationship with his dad extends far past the sport they both love so much.
“It was just me and Anthony,” Walker Sr. said. “My mom used to say, ‘Why do you talk to him like that?’ And I would say, ‘Talk to him like that?’ And she said, ‘You talk to him like he’s an adult.’ He just understands a lot. He always asks me questions, and we bounce ideas off of each other. It’s helped develop the relationship we have today.”
And one thing Walker Jr. especially appreciates is the devotion his dad — a dean of students at Monsignor Edward Pace as well as a former coach — has shown him.
“Seeing all the sacrifices he made for me as a single parent made me want to be better,” Walker Jr. said. “My mom was around, and she does what she can — she has my sisters who stay with her. But it’s always been my dad for me. He’s my guy.”
At heart, Walker Jr. is a Miami boy. He grew up idolizing Ray Lewis and the Miami Hurricanes.
“We love football down there,” Walker Jr. said. “Football is a passion. You have schools down there where they breed NFL athletes year in and year out. Seeing those guys as I was growing up, that’s what I wanted to be like.
“Who wouldn’t want to go and play for their hometown? But all you need is that one scholarship.”
The U never came calling, but Northwestern offered him “that one.” Shortly after Long met with Walker Sr., linebackers coach Randy Bates came down to Miami to watch Walker Jr. work out. He got his scholarship offer right on the spot.
“Anthony was like, ‘Dad, I got the offer,’” Walker Sr. said. “And I was just ecstatic. When he came to me and told me, I was probably more excited than him.”
One of Walker Jr.’s main goals was for his dad to not have to shoulder the financial burden of college. Achieving just that was deeply gratifying for the linebacker.
“When I was able to get a football scholarship at a school like Northwestern, that’s the happiest I’ve seen my dad, knowing he wouldn’t have to pay for college,” Walker Jr. said. “I never wanted my dad to have to pay.”
And on July 17, 2012, Walker Jr.’s day came — he committed to the Wildcats.
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The Walkers were thrilled to see Anthony simply enroll at Northwestern, but he has thrived under the tutelage of former Northwestern star linebacker Pat Fitzgerald. Walker Jr. posted 120 tackles in 2015, including a Big Ten-leading 20.5 tackles for loss. He was a first-team All-Big Ten performer and a third-team All-American for the Associated Press. He was dubbed the best linebacker in the nation by some publications and a potential first-round NFL Draft choice by others.
Around week four of last season, running back Auston Anderson started calling Walker Jr. “The Franchise,” and Northwestern’s broadcast operations department ate it up with a full superhero-like media blast—videos, comic books, shirts and a “Franchise” logo.
“He hated it at first, because it put him on a pedestal over all of his teammates who helped him get there,” running back Justin Jackson said. “But we wanted him to embrace it. We told him, ‘We recognize your greatness.’ It’s a testament to him.”
Fitzgerald announced in early August that Walker Jr. would move from jersey No. 18 to No. 1, a number worn by the player who most ‘embodies the values and character of the Northwestern football family.”
“He’s handled the hype well,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s a special guy. I just really like being around him.”
For Walker, the increased media attention has facilitated his development.
“For the most part, it helped me — learning how to play through distractions and a little more attention — just to see that I’m making an impact on the program,” said Walker Jr., whose teammates often describe him as a big teddy bear.
“He looks big and scary but he’s really a super nice guy,” Jackson said.
Walker was limited in September because of an offseason knee injury that kept him out of parts of training camp. He was held to just over five tackles per game in Northwestern’s first four contests.
“Just missing those reps in camp, not being able to practice with my teammates, was tough,” Walker said. “Those first couple games, I was able to get more used to it. The Duke game was a big spark. And last week (Iowa) was pretty much the most healthy game I’ve played this year.”
But through Walker Jr.’s career — the ups, the downs, the media hype, the injuries — his relationship with his dad remains the most constant and rewarding aspect, with the daily phone calls, the support and love. If the next step for Walker Jr. is the NFL, his dad is more than prepared.
“It would be a great experience just to watch your son live out his childhood dream,” Walker Sr. said. “As a parent, that’s hard to describe. The day that happens, I’ll be giving my glory to God. I told Anthony, anything after getting your degree is icing on the cake. Those things are not promised.
“I’m just very proud to watch him grow into the young man he’s become.”