Philadelphia Eagles should consider signing P.J. Walker as backup

Walker’s experience at Temple

Walker is a hometown kid who grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey and played quarterback for four years at Elizabeth High School, which is just over an hour away from Lincoln Financial Field, where he played college ball.

After committing to Temple University, Walker played under current Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule.

Unfortunately, year one did not go as planned for the Owls, but despite the team’s 2-10 record, that year was still a building block for a young team.

In 2013, Walker received an opportunity early in the season to become the starter as a freshman. Walker started nine games and threw for 2,084 yards with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions to go along with a 60.8 completion percentage. He also added 332 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

During that season against a 12-1 Central Florida team led by Blake Bortles, Walker had one of his best games of the year. Despite a heartbreaking 39-36 loss on a last-second field goal, Walker completed 26 of 44 passes for 382 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He also added 41 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on nine attempts.

Unfortunately, the sophomore slump was real for Walker the following year, although Temple improved to a 6-6 record.

On the season, Walker finished with just 2,317 passing yards to go along with13 touchdowns, and a 53.3 completion percentage on top of 15 interceptions in 12 starts.

However, Walker did still help out on the ground with 324 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

2014 also featured a signature win for Walker and the Owls, as he helped the team to a 20-10 win over the 21st ranked East Carolina Pirates.

While the first two years included some growing pains for both Walker and the entire team, he did display flashes of leadership and showed up in numerous big games when it mattered the most.