Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker ( born March 3 , 1962 ) is an American former college and professional football player and a former professional mixed martial artist . He played college football for the University of Georgia , earned All - American honors three times and won the 1982 Heisman Trophy . Walker began his professional football career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League ( USFL ) , before joining the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League ( NFL ) . In the NFL , he also played for the Minnesota Vikings , Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999 . Early years . Walker was born in Wrightsville , Georgia to parents Willis and Christine Walker . He was one of seven children in his blue collar family . Walker said that as a child he was overweight and had a speech impediment . Walker ' s mother taught him not to use these problems as excuses in life . High school career . Walker attended Johnson County High School in Wrightsville , where he played for the Johnson County Trojans high school football team from 1976 to 1979 . In his senior year , he rushed for 3 , 167 yards , helping the Trojans to win their first state championship . He was awarded the first Dial Award as 1979 national high school scholar - athlete of the year . College career . Walker played running back for the University of Georgia , where he was a three - time All - America n and winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award . He is the only player in NCAA history to finish in the top three in Heisman voting in all three of his collegiate seasons . He is the only NCAA player who played only three years to finish in the top ten in rushing yards . During his freshman season in 1980 , Walker set the NCAA freshman rushing record and finished third in Heisman voting . Walker was the first " true freshman " to become a first - team All - American . He played a major role in helping Georgia avoid defeat that year and win the de facto national championship with a victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl . He won the Heisman as a junior . In 1999 , Walker was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and is considered one of college football ' s greatest players . 1980 . Herschel Walker , the most sought after high school football player in the nation at the time , signed a national letter of intent to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs on Easter Sunday , April 6 , 1980 . Mike Cavan , Walker ' s recruiter , had helped provide head coach Vince Dooley with his prized recruit . The season began with sophomore Carnie Norris starting ahead of Walker at tailback as the Bulldogs faced the University of Tennessee on September 6 , 1980 in Knoxville . With Tennessee gaining a 9 - 0 lead early in the 2nd quarter , coach Dooley told his offensive coordinator , " I ' m putting Herschel in . " Tennessee held a 15 - 2 advantage late in the third quarter when Walker changed the momentum of the game . The 6 - 1 , 218 - pound true freshman scored on a pitch sweep from 16 yards out where he ran over Tennessee ' s safety , Bill Bates , near the goal line with 1 : 03 left in the 3rd quarter . Walker scored again five minutes later off a 9 - yard touchdown run as Georgia went on to win the game , 16 - 15 . A week later , Georgia traveled to face Texas A & M as the Bulldogs got off to a 28 - 0 lead by halftime . With four minutes left in the third quarter , Walker broke off on a 76 - yard TD run . He finished with 21 carries for 145 yards and 3 TDs against the Aggies . Teammate Buck Belue complimented Walker ' s ground game by going 6 of 13 for 147 passing yards during the contest . In the games that followed , Georgia raced to a 6 - 0 start by knocking off Clemson ( 20 - 16 ) , TCU ( 34 - 3 ) , Ole Miss ( 28 - 21 ) , and Vanderbilt ( 41 - 0 ) . In the Vandy game , which was played on October 18 , Walker had 23 rushes for a career - high 283 yards and scored on long touchdown runs of 60 , 48 , and 53 yards during the contest . In the games prior to that , Walker ran for 121 yards against Clemson and 69 more versus TCU — which featured a 41 - yard run against the Horned Frogs . Georgia ' s 20 - 16 win over Clemson was even closer than the score indicated as the Tigers held Georgia to just 155 total yards of offense which was just 34 more than Walker ' s rush total on that fateful day on September 20 . Walker needed help from senior CB / PR Scott Woerner to get past defensive - minded Clemson as the return man delivered with a 67 - yard punt return for a score early in the first quarter as the Bulldogs would go on to win – barely . The special teams and defense gave Georgia the upperhand in the two weekends that followed as the Bulldogs got past Kentucky ( 27 - 0 ) and South Carolina ( 13 - 10 ) . The victory in Columbia , South Carolina over the Gamecocks on November 1st featured Walker matching up with the 1980 Heisman Trophy winner , George Rogers . Georgia got out to a 13 - 0 lead early in the third quarter and held on to win by 3 points . Walker ' s 76 - yard touchdown run gave Georgia a commanding lead at 10 - 0 with 14 : 14 left in the 3rd quarter . Walker rushed 43 times for 219 yards while Rogers similarly kept pace , gaining 168 yards on 35 carries himself . Georgia had made it to 8 - 0 when coach Dooley ' s Bulldogs faced the most daunting task of the year . The game would be affectionately referred to as the " Miracle on Duval Street " as second - ranked Georgia faced a 6 - 1 Florida Gators team in Jacksonville , Fla . on November 8 , 1980 . Walker starting things off by taking a toss sweep play to the right for 72 yards and a score early in the first quarter . Georgia led 14 - 10 at the half and extended its lead to 20 - 10 with 3 : 09 left in the 3rd quarter when Florida mounted its comeback . Florida ' s QB Wayne Peace ( 20 - of - 37 , 282 passing yards ) directed two scoring drives that gave the Gators a 21 - 20 lead with 6 : 52 remaining in the contest . With time running out on third - and - 11 , QB Buck Belue found WR Lindsay Scott for a 93 - yard touchdown pass with 1 : 03 left to give Georgia the win , 26 - 21 . Walker carried Georgia ' s offense that afternoon by rushing 37 times for 238 yards against the Gators . Georgia clinched an SEC Championship with a 6 - 0 mark in league play on November 15th by taking out Auburn , 31 - 21 , on the road . Walker did most of the work by rushing 27 times for 84 yards which included an 18 - yard TD run during the third quarter . This gave Georgia a 31 - 7 lead as the Bulldogs held on to win the game . Two weeks later , Walker ended the regular season with an exclamation point by scoring on touchdown runs of 1 , 23 , and 65 yards as Georgia defeated in - state rival Georgia Tech , 38 - 20 . Walker rushed 25 times for 205 yards against the Ramblin ' Wreck . Walker ' s Georgia Bulldogs were ranked No . 1 at 11 - 0 - 0 as they were invited to play coach Dan Devine ' s Notre Dame Fighting Irish ( 9 - 1 - 1 ) in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans , La . on January 1 , 1981 . Walker and the Georgia Bulldogs faced traditional football power Notre Dame in the Louisiana Superdome on New Year ' s Day in the 1981 Sugar Bowl . The Fighting Irish grabbed an early 3 - 0 lead in the 1st quarter after Harry Oliver nailed a 50 - yard field goal . Georgia answered as its kicker , Rex Robinson , hit a 46 yarder with 1 : 45 left in the first quarter to tie the score at 3 - 3 . Quickly , Walker took center stage after Notre Dame failed to properly field and return a kickoff . Two plays later , Walker dived over the top for a 1 - yard touchdown run which gave UGA a 10 - 3 lead . He took advantage of more Irish misfortune as a Notre Dame fumble set Georgia up at the Irish 22 - yard line . Three plays later , Walker was in the end zone again after he had runs of 12 , 7 , and 3 yards . This TD came with 13 : 49 left in the 2nd quarter as Georgia led 17 - 3 . Notre Dame ' s tailback Phil Carter would score a touchdown late in the third quarter as Georgia held on to win , 17 - 10 . Walker , who suffered a dislocated left shoulder very early in the game , managed to rush 36 times for 150 yards that included a longest run of 23 yards during the contest . At the season ' s conclusion , Walker had helped his Georgia Bulldogs complete a 12 - 0 - 0 record as the Associated Press voted the University of Georgia No . 1 with 58½ first place votes to Pittsburgh ' s 3½ . Walker and his teammates were also voted No . 1 by the United Press International Poll — which listed Georgia with 36 first place votes to Pitt ' s three . 1981 . It didn ' t take long for the momentum from 1980 to carry over into 1981 for the Georgia Bulldogs as Walker and company took control early in the season by racing past Tennessee ( 44 - 0 ) and the Cal Golden Bears ( 27 - 13 ) during the first two weekends of September for easy wins . Against the Volunteers , he rushed for 161 yards in 30 snaps and scored on touchdown runs of 1 and 47 yards , but the long run was wiped out by a clipping penalty . Walker pounded California by rushing 35 times for 167 yards on September 12 , 1981 . After hitting a dip in the season , losing 13 - 3 to eventual national champion Clemson , Georgia regained its focus and won out to get to 10 - 1 by the regular season ' s end . Even though Walker was able to push , shove , and get through Clemson ' s defense by rushing 28 times for 111 yards , it wasn ' t enough to overcome 9 turnovers by the Bulldogs in the loss to the Tigers . Georgia and Walker rebounded by blanking South Carolina , 24 - 0 , on September 26th as the sophomore running back ran for 176 yards on 36 carries . Georgia , however , only led 3 - 0 at the half . Walker opened things up for the Bulldogs in the third quarter by scoring on TD runs of 3 and 8 yards to put the Gamecocks away . Walker ' s Bulldogs reeled off solid wins — all in October — over Ole Miss ( 37 - 7 ) , Vanderbilt ( 53 - 21 ) , Kentucky ( 21 - 0 ) , and Temple ( 49 - 3 ) . He rushed for a season - high 265 yards on 41 attempts and a TD against Mississippi on October 10 . A week later , Walker rushed 39 times for 188 yards and 2 TDs versus Vanderbilt . Against Temple , he scored a career - high 4 touchdowns while rushing 23 times for 112 yards against the Owls . On November 7 , seventh - ranked Georgia and Walker got behind , 14 - 0 , down in Jacksonville , Fla . to the Florida Gators , but came back to win in a repeat score of the game from a season before , 26 - 21 . Walker rushed a career - high 47 times for 192 yards while scoring touchdowns on runs of 4 , 1 , 24 , and 16 yards against the Gators . Walker and the Georgia Bulldogs finished out the regular season at home against nearby rivals in the Auburn Tigers ( November 14 ) and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ( December 5 ) . The 24 - 13 win over coach Pat Dye ' s Tigers clinched a 2nd SEC Championship in a row for Georgia as Walker ' s 2 - yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Bulldogs a commanding 24 - 7 lead they would not lose . Georgia had led Auburn 17 - 7 at the half as senior quarterback Buck Belue complimented Walker ' s power , ground game by throwing for two touchdowns . Walker grinded out 165 yards on 37 rushes during the contest . Against Georgia Tech , seniors Belue and Lindsay Scott set the tone on the game ' s 1st play by hooking up on an 80 - yard pass as Scott raced into the endzone with the pigskin to spark a 34 - 0 halftime lead for the Bulldogs . Walker got into the act by scoring three touchdowns in the first half . He added a 1 - yard TD run in the fourth quarter as Georgia cruised past the Yellow Jackets , 44 - 7 . Walker finished with 36 rushes for 225 yards with 4 TDs in the rivalry matchup . Riding an 8 - game winning streak , Walker ' s Georgia ( 10 - 1 ) ranked as the No . 2 team in the country when they faced Pittsburgh ( also 10 - 1 , ranked No . 10 ) in the 1982 Sugar Bowl . Walker made his presence felt early as he bolted 8 yards for a touchdown with 7 : 18 left in the 2nd quarter giving Georgia a 7 - 0 lead inside the Louisiana Superdome . The Bulldogs led 7 - 3 at the half . After a Dan Marino 30 - yard touchdown pass lifted Pitt to a 10 - 7 lead , Walker answered . This time , Walker scored from 10 yards out to give Georgia a 14 - 10 lead going into the 4th quarter . With Georgia clinging to a 20 - 17 lead late in the game , Marino found Pittsburgh ' s receiver John Brown open for a 33 - yard TD pass with 0 : 35 left in the game . Walker ' s Bulldogs came up short in the loss , 20 - 24 . He finished with 25 rushes for 84 yards and led UGA in receptions with 3 catches for 53 yards that evening on January 1 , 1982 . 1982 . With the season opener with defending national champion Clemson looming , the University of Georgia received bad news when Herschel Walker suffered a fractured right thumb in a scrimmage practice on August 21 , 1982 . He was expected to be out of action for 3 – 6 weeks , team officials said . When the two teams met on September 6th , Walker wore a bulky , padded cast on his broken right thumb . Clemson jumped out to a 7 - 0 lead off QB Homer Jordan ' s 6 - yard keeper midway through the first quarter . In this tight game , Walker was used primarily as a decoy as he rushed 11 times for 20 yards . The Georgia defense made up for its injured star player by shutting down Clemson , limiting the Tigers to 249 total yards of offense as the Bulldogs prevailed , 13 - 7 . The season resumed as # 6 Georgia faced a tough test in Brigham Young at home on September 9 , 1982 . BYU ' s Tom Holmoe returned an interception 83 yards for a TD which tied the score at 7 - 7 at the half . The errant throw seemed to erase Barry Young ' s 12 - yard TD run for Georgia — which happened earlier . BYU ' s Steve Young ( legendary QB for the San Francisco 49ers ) made matters worse when he connected with Scott Collie on a 21 - yard TD pass in the 3rd quarter to give Brigham Young a 14 - 7 lead going into the final period of play . However , Walker rallied the Bulldogs as he led them on two scoring drives that gave Georgia the win , 17 - 14 . He scored on a 1 - yard TD run with 5 : 36 left in the 4th quarter which tied up the score . Later , Walker converted on a huge fourth - and - 1 that enabled Georgia ' s place kicker Kevin Butler to make a 44 - yard field goal in the game ' s closing seconds . Walker ' s game - winning drive of 40 yards to set up Butler ' s kick covered three minutes in all — which was keyed by his 23 - yard breakaway run . Walker , coming back from the thumb injury , got into a groove by rushing 31 times for 124 yards against the Cougars when the game was on the line . UGA ' s cornerback Ronnie Harris ended the contest by intercepting a pass from BYU ' s Steve Young at the Georgia 25 - yard line to seal the win . After the difficult challenge with BYU , Walker and company won out the rest of the way through the regular season . After getting past South Carolina , 34 - 18 , on September 25th , Georgia rolled during the month of October . Walker ' s performance against the Gamecocks was modest ( 32 rushes , 143 yards , and 1 TD ) , but he ran hard while wearing the cast on his injured hand . In October , Georgia faced Mississippi State , Ole Miss , Vanderbilt , Kentucky , and Memphis State beginning on October 2nd and finishing out on October 30th . Walker ' s Bulldogs slipped past Mississippi St . , 29 - 22 , as the 6 - 1 , 220 - pound junior tailback rushed 39 times for 215 yards and a touchdown against the MSU Bulldogs . Next , Georgia overwhelmed Ole Miss , 33 - 10 , as Walker rushed 24 times for 149 yards and 3 TDs in the contest . On October 16th , Georgia got past an up - and - coming Vanderbilt team ( finished 8 - 4 in 1982 ) that was led by quarterback Whit Taylor ( 2 , 481 passing yards , 22 TDs in ' 82 ) , 27 - 13 . Against the Commodores , Walker ran for 172 yards and a TD off 38 carries . He received help from his teammate , safety Terry Hoage , who had 3 interceptions during the contest . Georgia finished out October by knocking off Kentucky ( 27 - 14 ) and Memphis State ( 34 - 3 ) to push its record to 8 - 0 going into the Florida game down in Jacksonville , Fla . Walker maintained a heavy load , carrying the Georgia ground game as he rushed 34 times against Kentucky for 152 yards . The Wildcats actually led 10 - 3 in the second quarter when Walker caught one of three John Lastinger touchdown passes during the game . Walker ' s reception came off a screen pass as he raced 64 yards to paydirt to cut the deficit to a 14 - 10 score . Lastinger threw two more TD ' s in the second half as Georgia pulled away . Walker finished with 79 receiving yards on 3 catches against Kentucky . In Georgia ' s matchup with Memphis St . , Walker shattered the Southeastern Conference career scoring record as his third - ranked Bulldogs swept past the Tigers by 31 points . He ran for a season - high 219 yards ( off 33 carries ) and 2 touchdowns which extended Memphis St . ' s losing streak to 15 games . Georgia took control against tough opposition during the month of November . They got past Florida , Auburn , and Georgia Tech to complete a perfect 11 - 0 regular season as the No . 1 ranked team in the country . Walker dismantled Florida by scoring on touchdown runs of 30 , 1 , and 1 yards as Georgia led 17 - 0 at the half and by as much as 27 - 0 after his last TD during the third quarter . He rushed 35 times for 219 yards during the contest which was his signature win . " We were ready for this game , " Walker said . " We were more fired up than Florida . " With Auburn , Georgia had to face the Tigers on November 13 in a hostile environment at Jordan - Hare Stadium in a game which was a slugfest . Walker scored on a 3 - yard TD run with 8 : 42 left in the 4th quarter which gave UGA a 19 - 14 lead . Georgia hung on to win by that score as Walker finished with 31 rushes for 177 yards and a 47 - yard run to go along with 2 TDs during the contest . In the last regular season game of Walker ' s career with the University of Georgia , the Yellow Jackets were no match as Georgia raced away with a 38 - 18 decision over Georgia Tech on November 27 — which pitted the No . 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs against the No . 2 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in the Sugar Bowl on January 1 , 1983 . Walker opened up Georgia ' s win over Georgia Tech by breaking five tackles and sprinting 59 yards for a score in the first quarter . Georgia led 7 - 6 at the half . The Bulldogs scored 17 points in the 3rd quarter which included a 1 - yard TD run by Walker . He finished with 27 rushes for 162 yards against the Rambling Wreck . Once again , Georgia wrapped up its third SEC Championship in as many seasons as Walker led the way by winning the Heisman Trophy on December 4 , 1982 . As SEC Champion , the Bulldogs were invited to play in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on New Year ' s Day . However , the 10 - 1 Nittany Lions were ready to play as Penn State grabbed a 20 - 3 lead in the 2nd quarter ( off two TD runs from their speedster running back , Curt Warner ) . Georgia ' s John Lastinger worked the 2 - minute drill with just 0 : 39 remaining in the half by driving 66 - yards . That drive ended with 0 : 05 left as Herman Archie caught a 10 - yard TD pass from Lastinger to cut the score to a 20 - 10 deficit by halftime . Walker scored one last time in his UGA career to cut the score to a 20 - 17 deficit as he fell into the end zone from 1 yard out with 10 : 37 remaining in the third quarter . However , Penn State answered 21 seconds later as its QB Todd Blackledge completed a 46 - yard TD pass to wideout Gregg Garrity . Penn State held on to win the game , 27 - 23 , and the national championship by a unanimous voting from both the AP and UPI polls . Walker rushed 28 times for 102 yards and caught a pass for 15 yards against the Mark Robinson - led PSU defense . Professional career . United States Football League . United States Football League rules ( unlike the NFL ) allowed athletes to turn professional after their junior seasons rather than wait for their collegiate class to graduate a year later . Further , the rules allowed him to choose where to play , allowing him to maximize his endorsement income . He stated , " I don ' t know if I would want to play in the NFL unless it was for the two New York teams or the Dallas Cowboys . " Walker signed with the New Jersey Generals in 1983 , owned by Oklahoma oil tycoon J . Walter Duncan , who after the 1983 season sold the team to real - estate mogul Donald Trump . Walker attracted only one major promotional offer , a joint project of McDonald ' s and Adidas . The USFL had initially followed the NFL and banned underclassmen . However , league officials concluded the rule would never stand up in court , and discarded it . To circumvent the league ' s $ 1 . 8 - million salary cap , Walker signed a personal services contract with Duncan ( later transferred to Trump . ) Similar arrangements were later made with other college stars . Although this move was challenged in court , Walker and the USFL prevailed . He won the USFL rushing title in 1983 and 1985 and in the latter year produced over 4 , 000 yards in total offense . He set the professional football record for single - season rushing yards with 2 , 411 yards in 1985 , averaging 5 . 50 yards per attempt in 18 games . Over the course of his USFL career , Walker had 5 , 562 yards rushing in 1 , 143 carries , averaging 4 . 87 yards . In 1983 , he rushed for 1 , 812 yards in 18 games . In his second season , his rushing yardage dropped to 1 , 339 , but he caught passes for more than 800 yards giving him over 2 , 100 yards in total offense . National Football League . Dallas Cowboys ( first stint ) . The Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League , suspecting that the USFL was not going to last , acquired Walker ' s NFL rights by drafting him in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft . When the USFL succumbed after its technically successful but financially fruitless antitrust suit against the NFL in 1986 , Walker came to the Cowboys as a fullback . During his first two years with the Cowboys , he shared duties with Tony Dorsett , becoming the first Heisman backfield tandem in NFL history . He established himself as a premier NFL running back , but when Dorsett was traded to the Denver Broncos in 1988 , Walker became a one - man offense , reaching his NFL career highs of 1 , 514 rushing yards and 505 receiving yards , while playing seven positions : halfback , fullback , tight end , H - back , wide receiver , both in the slot and as a flanker . He became just the 10th player in NFL history to amass more than 2 , 000 combined rushing and receiving yards in a season . In the process he achieved two consecutive Pro Bowl s ( 1987 and 1988 ) . In 1989 , at the height of his NFL career , the Cowboys traded Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a total of five players ( LB Jesse Solomon , DB Issiac Holt , RB Darrin Nelson , LB David Howard , DE Alex Stewart ) and six draft picks ( which led to Emmitt Smith , Russell Maryland , Kevin Smith , and Darren Woodson ) . This was claimed to be a turning point in the rise of the Cowboys to the NFL ' s top echelon . Minnesota Vikings . Nicknamed the " HWT " ( Herschel Walker trade ) , Walker ' s trade was widely condemned considering what the Vikings had to give up in order to get him and remains one of the most frequently vilified roster moves of that team ' s history . Vikings coaches only reluctantly accepted Walker after the trade and never fully exploited his talents . From the moment he arrived in Minneapolis , " Herschel Mania " erupted . After a single 2½ hour practice where he studied only 12 offensive plays , Walker had an incredible debut against the Green Bay Packers . He produced the best rushing game by a Viking back since 1983 and the first over - 100 yard rushing performance by a Viking since 1987 , gaining 148 yards on 18 carries . He received three standing ovations from the record Metrodome crowd of 62 , 075 , producing a Vikings win after four successive losses and 14 of the prior 18 matches with the Packers . His production thereafter declined . The team questioned his talent and commitment to football . He joined the Bobsled program of the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation , earning a berth in the 1992 Winter Olympics . Scout . com says , " Walker was never used properly by the coaching brain trust . " " Herschel the Turkey " , a mock honor given out by the " Star Tribune " newspaper to particularly inept or disgraceful Minnesota sports personalities , is named for him . Walker played for the Vikings for two and a half years , never amassing 1 , 000 rushing yards in a season . Philadelphia Eagles . After three seasons in Minnesota , the Philadelphia Eagles signed Walker in 1992 hoping he would be the final ingredient they needed to reach the Super Bowl . That year he enjoyed his best season as a Pro since 1988 , rushing for 1 , 070 yards . In 1994 he became the first NFL player to have one - play gains of 90 or more yards rushing , receiving and kick - returning in a single season . He spent three seasons in Philadelphia , leaving after the Eagles signed free agent Ricky Watters . New York Giants . The New York Giants signed him in 1995 as a third - down back , but soon discovered that Walker wasn ' t elusive enough for the role . He couldn ' t play fullback either , because of limited blocking skills . Walker led the Giants with 45 kick returns at 21 . 5 Y / Return in 1995 , his only season with the team . Dallas Cowboys ( second stint ) . He finished his football career with the Cowboys . In 1996 he rejoined the team as a kickoff return specialist and third - down back . Walker retired at the end of the 1997 season . Legacy . Walker rushed for 5 , 562 yards in his USFL career . His combined rushing numbers for the USFL and the NFL ( 13 , 787 yards ) would place him 5th All - Time on the NFL ' s career rushing list . In 12 NFL seasons , Walker gained 8 , 225 rushing yards , 4 , 859 receiving yards , and 5 , 084 kickoff - return yards . for 18 , 168 total combined net yards , ranking him second among the NFL ' s all - time leaders in total yardage as of his retirement ; as of the start of the 2007 NFL season , ten years later , he still ranked eighth . He scored 84 touchdowns : 61 rushing , 21 receiving and returned two kick - offs for touchdowns . Walker is the only other player besides Derrick Mason to have 10 , 000 + yards from scrimmage and 5 , 000 + return yards ( all of which were on kickoff returns ) . He is the only player to gain 4 , 000 yards three different ways : rushing , receiving and kickoff returns . He is one of six players ( Jim Brown , Lenny Moore , Marcus Allen , Marshall Faulk and Thurman Thomas ) to exceed 60 touchdowns rushing and 20 touchdowns receiving . He is the only NFL player with a 90 + yard reception , 90 + yard run and a 90 + yard kickoff return in one season ( 1994 ) . He is the only player to record an 84 + yard touchdown run and an 84 + yard touchdown reception in the same game ( December 14 , 1986 ) . He had 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving that day . Walker is regarded as one of the top college running backs of all time . In 1999 , he was selected to Sports Illustrated ' s NCAA Football All - Century Team . On the Fox Sports Net show " Sports List " , Walker was named the best college football running back of all time and was selected as the third greatest player in college football history by ESPN . Georgia retired Walker ' s number " 34 " . While Walker had a successful NFL career , he never played on a championship team . The move to Minnesota was the turning point in his NFL tenure . In 2008 , the trade was selected by SI . com as the worst sports trade of all time . It was the subject of an episode of ESPN Classic ' s " The Top 5 Reasons You Can ' t Blame . . . " . In 2003 Johnson County High School named its football field in his honor . Walker was a highly popular and visible personality , even in his college days , as evidenced by the fact that both a thoroughbred and a standardbred race horse were named after him , the former while he was still in college . He made several appearances in the sports documentary Damn Good Dog ( 2004 ) . On January 29 , 2011 Walker announced that he was considering a return to the NFL . " I ' ve told everyone that at 50 I might try football again to show people I can do that , " Walker said . " I want to be the George Foreman of football , come back and do that one more time . . . The two teams I would come back to play for are Minnesota or Atlanta . It would probably be Atlanta because that ' s home for me . " According to Walker , his mixed martial arts training made him , " a much better - conditioned athlete now than when I was playing football . I ' m 48 and in better shape now than I was when I was in my early 20s , playing football . " Personal . Walker married his college sweetheart , Cindy DeAngelis Grossman in 1983 . After 19 years they divorced in 2002 . They have one son together , Christian . Walker is a born - again Christian . He made a guest appearance on " The Hour of Power " , hosted by televangelist Robert Schuller . Walker has a fifth - degree black belt in tae kwon do and nearly made the U . S . Olympic track team in the sprint relay . He competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics in two - man bobsled , finishing seventh . In 1988 , while still a Dallas Cowboy , he danced with the Fort Worth Ballet for a single performance . He ran the 55 meters in 6 . 11 seconds , the 100 meters in 10 . 10 seconds and the 100 yards in 9 . 3 seconds . He won back - to - back American Superstars competitions in 1987 and 1988 . Walker has the mental condition dissociative identity disorder ( DID ) , also known as multiple personality disorder . He describes it to ABILITY Magazine as " I would say that we wear different hats in different situations . You have a white hat for your home life . You have a red hat for work . As an athlete , you ’ ve got a green hat for competition . But with DID , your hats get all mixed up , meaning that your hat for competition has now become your home hat , your home hat has become your work hat , your work hat has become some other hat and so on . DID is a coping mechanism to help you overcome something . " On October 11 , 2011 he visited the Central Park Campus of Collin College in McKinney , Texas , to discuss his dissociative identity disorder and ways to help change the conversation about mental health . The event was hosted by Ascend Health Corporation and the local chapter of Active Minds , a national organization that unites students in the goal to de - stigmatize mental health issues within the college and surrounding communities . He was a contestant in the second season of the Donald Trump reality television show " Celebrity Apprentice " . Although he owns a food service company , he was fired during the 8th episode for failing as Project Manager on a task to create a new meal for Schwan ' s LiveSmart frozen food line . Throughout the season , each celebrity raised money for a charity of his or her choice ; Walker selected " Alternative Community Development Services . " Training and diet . Walker is known for his unorthodox training and dieting methods . Walker says he sleeps five hours a night and eats only one meal a day ( skipping breakfast and lunch ) . His diet is made up mostly of soup , bread and salad . Walker has participated in a variety of sports including football , Olympic bobsledding , track and field , taekwondo , and ballet dancing . Instead of lifting weights , he has a daily regimen of 750 to 1 , 500 push - ups and 2 , 000 sit - ups . He has been going through this same routine since high school . Mixed martial arts career . In November 2007 , Walker appeared on the HDNet show " Inside MMA " as a guest . He indicated that he would take part in a mixed martial arts reality show in the near future ( along with José Canseco ) and that he would have an official MMA fight at the conclusion of the show . In September 2009 , it was announced that Herschel had been signed by MMA promotion company Strikeforce to compete in their heavyweight division . He began a 12 - week training camp with trainer " Crazy " Bob Cook at the AKA American Kickboxing Academy in October 2009 in San Jose , California . In his MMA debut on January 30 , 2010 , Walker defeated Greg Nagy via technical knock - out due to strikes at . According to Scott Coker , the Strikeforce CEO , Walker pledged to donate his fight purse to charity . Scott Coker announced Walker would fight again on Dec 4 , 2010 in St . Louis , Mo . Strikeforce confirmed that Walker would face former WEC fighter Scott Carson when he made his second appearance in the Strikeforce cage . Walker was forced off the Strikeforce card on December 4 due to a cut suffered in training that required seven stitches . They fought instead on January 29 , 2011 , and Walker defeated Carson via TKO ( strikes ) at 3 : 13 of round 1 .