Pete Carroll explains decision to draft Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III

Kenneth Walker III quickly made a name for himself while serving as the primary running back at Michigan State – and rightfully so. A 5-foot-10, 210-pound back, Walker rushed for 1,636 yards and 18 touchdowns in just one season with the Spartans after transferring from Wake Forest, and now he’s taken his game to the NFL level.

As the 2022 NFL Draft took place from Thursday to Saturday, Walker’s dream came true as he heard his name called – being selected No. 41 overall by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round. After being picked up by Seattle, head coach Pete Carroll explained the decision to draft Walker and made it clear what the running back brings to the team.

“It helps to see him run all of the variety of the plays,” Carroll said, as shared to Twitter by Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press. “There is a lot of shotgun runs that is happening in college football, it’s pretty zone oriented and straight forward. They had an NFL style running game they did a little bit of everything, so you are able to see him run zone schemes, run gap scheme principles, and he’s really effective in the counter game.

“It was a really good illustration of a guy being able to blossom with a variety of the run game, so it makes sense to us how he really could fit in.”

A former On3 Consensus three-star recruit out of the Class of 2019, Walker heads to the NFL after tallying 2,794 total rushing yards and 35 touchdowns over three seasons at the collegiate level.

Pittsburgh Steelers select Michigan State tight end Connor Heyward in 2022 NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers have selected Connor Heyward out of Michigan State with the 208th overall pick (via KC) in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The brother of current Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, Connor Heyward now gets a family reunion for his rookie season in the NFL.

Connor Heyward spent the past five seasons with the Spartans, including his first four as a running back/fullback. He made the transition to tight end in 2021, setting career highs with 35 catches for 326 yards and two touchdowns.