Walker attended Buford High School where he rushed for 5,676 rushing yards and 91 touchdowns and helped his team compile a four-year record of 58–2 and four straight state title game appearances, including three title game victories as part of a 45-game winning streak.

In 2003, his senior year, he scored 46 touchdowns, breaking Herschel Walker's Georgia single-season record of 42.

He recorded the sixth-best single-season rushing total in Notre Dame history as a junior when he gained a career-high 1,267 yards on 255 carries (5.0-yard average), scoring seven touchdowns.

He became just the fourth Notre Dame running back in school history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in consecutive seasons, joining Vagas Ferguson, Allen Pinkett and Denson.

[7][8] His grandfather, William "Sonny" Walker played football at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and was the first African American to serve in the Arkansas state cabinet.

Walker's uncle Hugh Jernigan played at the University of Arkansas as a defensive back and was a ninth round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1981.