Thomas Donley- SIU Sports Information department
CARBONDALE, IL – Cameron Walter has become a key member of Saluki Football’s ground attack. So there’s a touch of irony to find out that the senior running back grew up dreaming of flying the skies. That dream recently became a reality.
Walter earned his pilot’s license in his second year at SIU. The criminal justice major said his father, Darryl Walter, influenced his love of flying.
“It was always a dream of mine,” Walter said. “My dad used to take me to air shows when I was a kid, and that’s where I fell in love with it.”
Like some of the aerial acrobatics Walter witnessed as a child, Walter’s career as a Saluki has seen its ups and downs. He joined the team as a walk-on. His big opportunity came during his redshirt freshman year in 2014, when injuries in the backfield thrust him into a starting role at Missouri State. He rushed for 210 yards on 37 carries and earned The Sports Network National Freshman of the Week honors.
The Greenville, Ill. native hoped to build on that performance in 2015, but his season-opening 34-yard performance at Indiana was the pinnacle of his season, as he earned just 38 more yards the rest of the year.
“It sets you back and makes you humble,” Walter said. “It teaches you to stick with what got you to that point, and it makes you hungry.”
Walter began 2016 so low on the depth chart that his primary contribution was special teams work, until his first touches of the season came in the Salukis’ third game. In the fourth quarter of a 50-17 blowout of Murray State, he ran the ball five times for 64 yards.
Walter had a breakout performance in Game Six, a 31-28 loss at Illinois State, in which he was the team’s leading rusher with 72 yards. Walter made his first start of the year the following week against Indiana State.
Despite the hurdles he faced early in the year, Walter ended the season as SIU’s leading rusher with 335 yards, giving him 730 for his career. Not bad for a guy who had to try-out for the team..
“He exemplifies what you want in a football player,” coach Nick Hill said. “He waited his turn… He came to work every single day. He’s just a workhorse. He does the things that you’re supposed to do, and I’ve learned in my short time in the business that those guys are the guys that will play for you and win you games. He’s a steady player and a steady guy.”
Heading into his senior season, the 5-foot-8 Walter is considered the leader of the Salukis’ backfield, that includes talented backs such as Daquan Isom and Jonathan Mixon.
“Younger guys can look at him and see you’ve got to do your work,” Hill said. “He’s a leader for us because he goes out there, and young guys can see that buying in to special teams is important. It just proves that if you do things right and buy into what we’re trying to do in this culture, then things pay off.”
While Walter is on the smaller side physically, he brings a big personality to the Salukis. He loves to make people laugh, such as when he jokes about the size he was predicted to reach as a child.
“I was supposed to be 6’4 and I wear size 13 shoes…but I’m still waiting to grow into them,” he laughed.
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