Walker welcomes change after somber season

[August 05, 2009]  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Receiver Mike Walker has endured a career's worth of issues in just two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He's been plagued by a nagging knee injury, slowed by a staph infection that required hospitalization and stunned by the deaths of a close friend and his father.

Walker is ready for change. He's already swapped jersey numbers and has plans to alter his name. He's also healthy for the first time in years.

"I feel like where I'm at it's do or die," Walker said. "I have all the potential. I'm in a state of mind where it's just time to do it. No more excuses, no more injury problems."

The Jaguars are counting on him more than ever, too.

After the team parted ways with Matt Jones, Reggie Williams, Jerry Porter and Dennis Northcutt during the offseason, Walker suddenly had more tenure in Jacksonville than any receiver on the roster. And when training camp began Monday, Walker found himself trotting out with the first team alongside seven-time Pro Bowler Torry Holt instead of waiting his turn and lining up with backups.

"If I don't (start), it's all my fault," said Walker, a third-round draft pick from Central Florida in 2007. "I've been here the longest. I know all the plays. I expect to be a starter in this game, on this team, in this league and just make plays."

Walker, a 6-foot-2, 214-pound Orlando native, didn't get many opportunities to make plays during his first two seasons. He has 16 catches for 271 yards, but his career has been defined more by injury and heartache.

He tore a ligament in his left knee in 2005, aggravated the injury in the 2007 preseason finale and then spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve. He was supposed to be back at full speed last fall, but most of his playing time came because of injuries to Porter and Northcutt.

Nonetheless, Walker had a breakout performance against Pittsburgh in early October. He caught six passes for 107 yards, with his cancer-stricken father watching from the stands.

But Walker sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during the game, missed practice the following week, then had to be hospitalized because of an infection in the knee joint. He spent four nights in the hospital and ended up missing four games.

It was just the beginning of his somber season.

On Thanksgiving night, Walker got a call telling him his close friend, Winfred L. Ezell, had been stabbed in an Orlando nightclub. Walker, who was home for the holiday, rushed to the scene and found Ezell lying in a pool of blood. Ezell was pronounced dead a short time later.

It got worse, too. When Walker returned to Orlando the following week for Ezell's funeral, his father, Michael Sims, complained about pain associated with his colon cancer. It was normal for Sims to have some discomfort, so Walker called an ambulance to take his father to the hospital to get stronger medication and headed to the cemetery.

After the funeral, Walker boarded a flight to Chicago to join his teammates before the next day's game. When he landed, he had a message saying his father wasn't doing very well. He got a call a few hours later saying his father had died.

"It's hard to explain, but for some reason, the good Lord wanted it to happen then and it all happened at once," receivers coach Todd Monken said. "Hopefully, he's gotten a lot of that out of the way and it's smooth sailing from here."

Walker hopes so.

He worked out harder than ever this summer, bulking up in hopes of becoming a better blocker and testing both knees every way he could imagine.

"I feel great," he said. "I haven't felt this good since college."

Walker switched jersey numbers this offseason, going from No. 81 to No. 11, and has plans to officially change his name to Sims-Walker in honor of his father. He also hopes to avoid another injury, which could be key to Jacksonville's offensive success.

"When Mike is healthy, he is one of the best receivers out there and I know he can do it," quarterback David Garrard said. "We have been talking about that all offseason. ... I know what he can do and I know what he's capable of. If he stays healthy, he's going to have a great season for us."

[Associated Press; By MARK LONG]

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