Wesley Walls: A Living Legend

By Chris Purser
Athletics Media Relations Student Assistant

When the Ole Miss Rebels take the field today against Alabama, it will mark a special place in the heart of a former player with fond memories of the game.

Former Ole Miss tight end Wesley Walls was a member of the 1988 team that beat the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. How appropriate that today, Walls is honored as this year's Ole Miss SEC Living Legend.

"I am truly honored," Walls said. "I have a special place in my heart for Ole Miss. This is where I wanted to play as a kid my whole life. I just love it here."

Walls came to Oxford as a freshman outside linebacker in the fall of 1985. For the first three years of his career with the Rebels, that is where Walls would stay, producing some of the best memories of his career.

"One of the best games I remember was when we played LSU down in Baton Rouge in 1986," he said. "They are one of those opponents that you look forward to playing. They don't like us, we don't like them. It's a great rivalry. We went to their place that fall when they were ranked and beat them. Their fans are loud, the atmosphere is intense, but we took care of business."

Walls moved to tight end prior to the start of the 1988 season, becoming one of the few two-way players for the Rebels that year. And in a career-year full of memories, there was one game that stood out that season for Walls.

"Alabama that year was a special game," Walls said. "I had seven catches in that game, as well as a couple of stops on defense. My friend, Todd Sandroni, had a great game that day. It was Paul Bear' Bryant Day. We just went out there and had a great performance on both sides of the ball. We took their crowd out of the game. That was something special."

That season, Walls cemented himself as one of the greats in Ole Miss history. As a co-captain for the Rebels, Walls earned first-team All-America honors at tight end, his only season to play the position. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1989 draft, and played in Super Bowl XXIV.

"Going to the Super Bowl is a fond memory," says Walls. "There are only a few people that can say they have done that."

Walls spent four seasons with the 49ers, before moving on to the New Orleans Saints for two seasons. In 1996, he signed with the newly formed Carolina Panthers, a move that would take him to the fore front of the NFL and make him a household name.

"Just getting the opportunity to play for Carolina was great," Walls said. "We were a new, young team. All we wanted to do was play and win. Just a few years after the franchise started, we were in the playoffs. We built something special."

Walls played seven seasons with the Panthers, becoming the franchise's third all-time career leader in receptions, receiving yards and points scored. He is also tied for first in receiving TD's with 44.

Following the 2002 season, Walls signed on to play one year with the Green Bay Packers at the request of Brett Favre. That season spent with his friend produced the most memorable moment in Walls NFL career.

"We were playing in Oakland," Walls said. "Brett's dad had just died the day before the game. We went out there and played for Brett as a team. I was able to catch a touchdown pass from him. That game was really special. It was heartbreaking but exciting, knowing that we, as a team, could help him take his mind off what was going on. For just a few hours, his mind was away from the tragic event that had happened. That was really just something special, something you will never forget."

After 14 seasons, the five-time Pro Bowler retired following the 2004 season with the Packers.
Walls finished his career with 450 catches for 5,291 yards and 54 touchdowns. Upon his retirement, he was considered one of the premier tight ends in the game.

Today, he works in real estate as a developer, using the degree he got from Ole Miss. Walls compiled a 3.41 in General Engineering and earned Academic All-America honors, as well as being named a three-time Academic All-SEC pick. He was named to the University of Mississippi Athletic Hall of Fame, and received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He also received the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City and gave the response on behalf of the 1988 honorees.

Walls gave back to the University that gave him so much, endowing a football scholarship at Ole Miss.

The $100,000 gift is used to provide a football scholarship to any Ole Miss signee from Pontotoc County.
"I will always look at Ole Miss as home," Walls said. "This is where I'm from. I have always considered this home. I wanted to play here as a kid. When I come here, I just feel like this is home. This feels like family."

And Wesley Walls will always be family to Ole Miss.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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