Andrew Walter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Andrew Walter | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | May 11, 1982 |
| Place of birth | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| College | Arizona State University |
| NFL Draft | 2005 / Round 3 (69 overall) |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2005-Present | Oakland Raiders |
Andrew Walter is a professional quarterback with the Oakland Raiders of the NFL. Walter was selected by the Raiders in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Arizona State University. He is listed at 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) and 234 lb (107 kg).
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[edit] Collegiate career
Andrew Walter was not a highly touted recruit from Grand Junction High School in Grand Junction, Colorado. He was recruited by-then coach Bruce Snyder of Arizona State University in 1999. Walter redshirted during the 2000 season, which would turn out to be Snyder's last season as coach of the Sun Devils. In November of 2000, Arizona State terminated Snyder and announced Dirk Koetter from Boise State University as its new head coach. Although the beginning of his career started off with Walter striving for recognition and playing time, he went on to thrive under Koetter becoming the school's all time career leader in touchdowns, passing yardage, completions, attempts, interception percentage, and total offense. In 2004, Walter set the Pac-10 record for most career touchdowns, finishing with 85 (He shattered the previous record held for 22 years by Stanford's John Elway). Walter's career touchdown record was short lived, however, as University of Southern California's Matt Leinart eclipsed it with 98 career touchdowns during the 2005 season.
[edit] 2001
Walter's redshirt freshman season saw limited playing time behind sophomore starter Jeff Krohn. Krohn faced numerous injuries that season to go along with the frustrations of an offense under a new coach. This lead Walter to come off the bench and gain playing experience, which included a decent performance in "mop-up" duty during a losing effort against the University of Oregon. Koetter's first season with ASU was disastrous and ended with a 4-7 record and only one win in the Pacific 10 Conference. This prompted Krohn to transfer out of ASU after the season was over.
[edit] 2002
With an opening at quarterback, Walter seemed to be the favorite going in to the season to start. This turned out not to be the case however, when Walter was kept as the backup, after redshirt freshman Chad Christiansen had impressive spring and fall practices. Walter's frustration at lack of playing time almost led him to transfer from ASU.
In September of 2002, the Sun Devils fell behind the San Diego State Aztecs 22-0. Christiansen was largely ineffective and was replaced by Walter. Walter entered the game with a protective boot due to an injury he sustained during the previous week of practice. The injury did not prove to be a factor as Walter connected with ASU wide receiver Shaun McDonald for an 72 yard touchdown pass on his first play from scrimmage. Walter's second pass from scrimmage also ended up as a touchdown. ASU came back to beat the Aztecs in the largest come-from-behind win in ASU history, but it definitely would not be Walter's last.
Later in the season, ASU put together an impressive win streak when visiting #6 Oregon at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. Autzen had a reputation as an intimidating stadium for visiting opponents, as the Ducks had lost only one game at Autzen over the previous four seasons. After falling behind 21-0 in the second quarter, Walter picked apart the Oregon secondary to storm back to an unbelievable 45-42 upset over the Ducks. Walter broke a Pac-10 single game record for passing with 536 yards against Oregon.
ASU would end the regular season with an 8-5 record and nearly upset the Kansas State Wildcats, who were favored by 44 points over the Devils, in the 2002 Holiday Bowl. Although ASU narrowly lost the contest 34-27 (relinquishing the lead only once, in the closing minute of the game) Walter would achieve the ASU single season passing record with 3,877 yards.
[edit] 2003
2003 was marked as a disappointing season for Walter and the Sun Devils. ASU started the season ranked at #15 but put up disappointing performances against traditionally weaker opponents Northern Arizona University and Utah State University. The Sun Devils suffered their first loss at the University of Iowa getting pounded 21-2 by the Hawkeyes. Despite the Sun Devils achieving a paltry 5-7 record (2-6 Pac-10), Walter still put up great numbers throwing for 3,044 yards including the game winning touchdown vs North Carolina as time expired. Walter also earned the Territorial Cup MVP when ASU beat their arch-rivals the University of Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium. At the end of the 2003 season, Walter decided to forego his opportunity to jump into the NFL and decided to stay at Arizona State for his last year of eligibility.
[edit] 2004
Walter's senior campaign featured a number of highs and lows. Walter lead the Sun Devils to an incredible comeback year where the Devils piled up an 8-3 record and clinched a berth in the Vitalis Sun Bowl. Walter also surpassed practically every ASU quarterback in every statistic. Walter also surpassed NFL legend John Elway as the Pac-10's all time touchdown leader. During the 2004 season, Walter helped the Devils get revenge on #15 Iowa, blowing them out 44-7. His low point of the season came when Walter went down in the fourth quarter during the regular season finale against Arizona and suffered a third degree shoulder separation, forcing him to miss the Sun Devils' post-season Sun Bowl game (a 27-23 victory over Purdue).
[edit] Professional career
Walter was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round (#69 overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft with the hope of eventually replacing the scrambling, short style passing of then-quarterback Rich Gannon, who led Oakland to Super Bowl XXXVII. Walter was renowned for his great arm strength and accuracy coming out of Arizona State, but the shoulder injury caused his draft stock to drop from a sure first round pick to a third round selection.
Walter spent his 2005 rookie season as the third string quarterback for the Raiders behind Kerry Collins and backup quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo. He did not play during the 2005 NFL season as a rookie (although he did play in two of the four exhibition games) due to a groin injury suffered presumably at training camp (in addition to the shoulder injury from college). Walter's groin injury eventually required surgery at the conclusion of the 2005 season.
Entering the 2006 NFL season, Walter was expected to compete for the starting quarterback position with Tuiasosopo and Aaron Brooks. After Oakland's recently completed mini-camp, wide receiver Randy Moss complimented Walter on his strong arm, fast release, and ability to get Moss the ball.[1]
After a poor performance by Brooks in week 1 of the 2006 NFL season, Walter replaced him late in the game. In week 2 Walter once again replaced Brooks due to poor performance including two fumbled snaps. Following the announcement that Brooks should miss 2-4 weeks with an injured pectoral muscle, Walter started the week 4 game against the Cleveland Browns. On October 22, he led the Raiders to their first win of the year, defeating the Arizona Cardinals. That win was notable because the starting quarterback of the Cardinals was former PAC-10 rival Matt Leinart, who the Raiders had a chance to pick in the 2006 NFL Draft but passed up because they felt they had their future QB in Walter. The move was criticized by fans and pundits alike.
