UCA’s Walker grabs Buck Buchanan as FCS’ top defensive player

CONWAY, Ark. — Central Arkansas defensive end David Walker earned the top individual defensive prize at the FCS level Saturday night when he was awarded 2024 Buck Buchanan Award at the FCS National Awards banquet.

Walker, a 6-foot-2, 260-pounder from Stuttgart, Ark., won going away with 23 of the 56 first-place votes and 164 total votes. He finished with a comfortable margin over Mercer cornerback T.J. Moore (93) and Richmond defensive end Jeremiah Grant (74). Walker was a finalist for the past three years, finishing third overall in 2022 as a sophomore.

Walker, who transferred to UCA after his freshman season at Southern Arkansas, racked up 68 tackles (45 solos), 23 tackles for loss (121 yards) and 10.5 sacks in 12 games, while also setting career highs with four forced fumbles, eight quarterback hurries and six pass breakups. He set school career records with 60 tackles for loss and 31 sacks in just three seasons as a Bear. He also broke the school single-game record with 6.5 tackles for loss against Tarleton State in 2023.

Walker was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons, once in the Atlantic Sun Conference (2022) and twice in the United Ahtletic Conference (2023, 2024). He was recently named the national defensive player of the Year by the FCS Athletic Directors Association, along with numerous All-America honors.

The Buck Buchanan Award is named for legendary defensive lineman Junious “Buck” Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career, and goe to the nation’s top defensive player at the FCS level. Past recipients include Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and Arthur Moats.

2024 Buck Buchanan Award Voting

Following is a breakdown of the voting results. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.
1. David Walker, DE, UCA: 23-8-3-3-2-164
2. TJ Moore, CB, Mercer: 3-10-8-6-2-93
3. Jeremiah Grant, DE, Richmond: 6-5-6-3-0-74
4. Mi’Quise Grace, DL, South Dakota: 7-5-4-1-2-71
5. Josiah Silver, DE, New Hampshire: 2-2-7-3-4-49
T6. Ckelby Givens, DE, Southern: 1-7-0-1-8-43
T6. Bryce Norman, LB, Southeast Missouri: 2-3-2-7-1-43
8. Blake Gotcher, LB, Northwestern State: 4-2-2-1-2-38
9. Brody Grebe, DE, Montana State: 4-2-2-1-1-37
10. Elijah Williams, DE, Morgan State: 1-4-3-0-1-31
11. Brandon Tucker, LB, East Texas A&M: 1-0-3-5-2-26
12. Kenny Gallop Jr., S, Howard: 2-1-0-2-1-19
13. A.J. Pena, LB, Rhode Island: 0-0-3-3-3-18
14. Eli Mostaert, DT, North Dakota State: 0-1-2-3-1-17
15. Gideon Lampron, LB, Dayton: 0-1-0-2-7-15
16. Keyshawn James-Newby, DE, Idaho: 0-1-1-2-0-11
T17. Eli Ennis, LB, McNeese: 0-0-2-1-2-10
T17. Cabel Francl, LB, South Dakota State: 0-1-1-1-1-10
T17. David Meyer, LB, UC Davis: 0-1-1-0-3-10
20. Ben Bogle, LB, Southern Illinois: 0-0-0-3-3-9
21. Noah Martin, LB, Samford: 0-0-0-3-2-8
T22. Andrew Jones, LB, Grambling State: 0-1-1-0-0-7
T22. Jalen Jones, CB, William & Mary: 0-0-1-1-2-7
T24. Brayden Manley, DE, Mercer: 0-0-0-1-3-5
T24. Saiku White, S, Lafayette: 0-0-1-0-2-5
T26. Abu Kamara, S, Yale: 0-0-0-2-0-4
T26. Finn Claypool, DE, Drake: 0-1-0-0-0-4
T28. Mason Chambers, S, UIW: 0-0-1-0-0-3
T28. Matt Jaworski, DE, Fordham: 0-0-1-0-0-3
T28. Hayden McDonald, CB, Columbia: 0-0-1-0-0-3
31. Jalen McClelland, CB, Tennessee State: 0-0-0-1-0-2
32. Kimal Clark, S, Central Connecticut State: 0-0-0-0-1-1