Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: Sports

Former Eastern defensive end Pierre Walters has worked out with numerous teams in preparation for the NFL Draft, which takes place this Saturday and Sunday and will be broadcast on ESPN. Walters hopes to be one of the players selected to play in the National Football League. (File Photo/The Daily Eastern News)

Pierre Walters has been all across the country.

This weekend he's going to be relaxing at his parent's place in Chicago.

The former Eastern linebacker has been working for a variety of NFL teams and now, will just wait for his name to be called during Saturday and Sunday's NFL Draft.

Walters has worked out with San Diego, Green Bay, Indianapolis and Chicago.

"I don't know where I'll be next week, but it'll be real exciting," Walters said.

The 6-foot-4, 269-pounder from Westchester St. Joseph High School has recovered from ankle surgery in November and has been moving fluidly.

"I'm very versatile," he said. "I'm just letting the cards fall. There's not much I can do at this point."

Walters visited the San Diego Chargers in early April and performed a workout with the Green Bay Packers at his high school. Last week, he did defensive line drills with the Indianapolis Colts at O'Brien Stadium and had a meeting with the Chicago Bears.

He's been in connection with a bunch of different teams even within the past week and his stock keeps rising.

The draft Web site NFLdraftscout.com has him ranked 18th out of 173 defensive ends.

In November, the same site had him ranked 26th out of 211.

"It's been a pretty busy week with me on the phone," Walters said.

He's been talking with the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, and talks to his agent every other day, but didn't think he would come this far.

"I've been trying to stay within myself and take it a day at a time," Walters said. "Each day keeps getting longer."

Walters has been on numerous message boards and is one of Sports Illustrated's top small school prospects. He has been projected to fit into a 4-3 or 3-4 defensive system.

He's looking to be the first Panther drafted since the Denver Broncos took Chris Watson in the third round in 1999.

Last season, former Eastern wide receiver Micah Rucker signed an undrafted free-agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was a member of the practice squad. He was eventually cut, had a stint with the Kansas City Chiefs and now has a free-agent contract with the New York Giants.

Walters said he knew he was going to work hard, but he didn't think he was going to come this far.

"It's nothing short of a blessing," he said.

Walters has been trying not to look at the boards, but can't help himself.

"It's hard to not to go on there and Google your name," Walters said.

Walters competed at Northwestern's Pro Day and in the Texas vs. Collegiate All-Star Game. Walters had 1 1/2 sacks in the game with a sack in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon.

He finished the 2008 season with 48 tackles (18 solo, 30 assisted) while leading the team with 16.5 tackles for loss. He also added 4.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and a blocked field goal.


Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or kjmurphy@eiu.edu.

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