Football
Walker leads parade of Bears to first-team UAC honors for season
Third straight year for UCA defensive lineman, joined by TaMuarion Wilson and Jace Benesch making all-conference list released Friday
CONWAY, Ark. — For the third consecutive year, Central Arkansas’ David Walker was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Walker, a senior from Stuttgart, Ark., earned his second straight United Athletic Conference (UAC) honor on Friday, and was also the Atlantic Sun award winner in 2022 in his first season at UCA after transferring from Southern Arkansas.
Walker, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive end, is one of three finalists for the 2024 Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the NCAA Division I FCS National Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a finalist as a sophomore in 2022.
Walker was joined on the All-UAC first team by senior safety TaMuarion Wilson, junior linebacker Jace Benesch and senior deep snapper Kyle Gasaway. Senior running back ShunDerrick Powell was named to the All-UAC second team after battling injuries for the final month of the season.
Walker led the UAC in tackles for loss (23.0) and sacks (10.5), setting the UCA career records in both categories with 31.0 sacks and 60.0 tackles for loss. For the season, Walker had 69 total tackles, forced four fumbles and recovered one and has six pass breakups.
Wilson, a 6-2, 215-pound safety from Bryant, Ark., is a three-time All-Conference selection and All-American selection. He was UCA’s No. 2 tackler this season, finishing with 93 total tackles, including 61 solo tackles. He also had 11.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 8 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles. He finished his stellar career with 347 tackles, putting him fifth in UCA history.
Benesch, a 6-foot, 215-pound linebacker from Hoxie, Ark., led the Bears and the UAC with 115 tackles in 2024, including 8.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in his first year as a starter. He had a career-high 17 tackles at Utah Tech and had double-figure tackles five times.
Gasaway, a 5-11, 220-pound senior from Memphis, Tenn. and transfer from Ouachita Baptist, was a two-year starter at snapper for the Bears. He recorded four special teams tackles this season and graduated with a degree in business administration.
Powell, a senior running back from Hoxie, Ark., was UCA’s leading rusher with 1,343 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns despite the injury. He also caught 36 passes for 325 yards and three more touchdowns. Powell led the nation for much of the season in all-purpose yards, finishing with 151.0 per game. He closed out his career at North Alabama and UCA with 4,014 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns.
