J. W. Walsh (born June 29, 1992) is an American football coach and former player. He played quarterback for the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team from 2011 to 2015.[1]

J. W. Walsh
Current position
TitleOffensive quality control
TeamOklahoma State
Biographical details
Born (1992-06-29) June 29, 1992 (age 31)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
2011–2015Oklahoma State
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2016TCU (GA)
2017–2019Abilene Christian (RB)
2020Texas (OA)
2021–presentOklahoma State (OQC)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

Early life edit

Walsh played at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, where he was coached by his father John and reached the University Interscholastic League state finals his senior year.

College career edit

Walsh was redshirted as a true freshman in 2011.[2] In 2012, Walsh battled Clint Chelf and true freshman Wes Lunt for the starting quarterback job. Lunt won the quarterback derby and Walsh was named the backup. Lunt suffered a knee/ankle injury in the game against Louisiana–Lafayette on September 15. Walsh stepped in and started the next three games before suffering a knee injury against Iowa State on October 20.[3][4] The injury was later revealed to be a fractured knee. The injury announcement came as a surprise as Walsh apparently suffered the injury in the first quarter, but he was able to play the entire game and finished with 415 passing yards and 46 rushing yards.[5][6] The injury was expected to sideline Walsh for the rest of the season, but he was able to return only a few weeks later. He was able to suit up for the last four games of the season and backed up Chelf, who started the final five games of the season at quarterback. Walsh finished the season with 1,564 passing yards, 13 touchdowns against three interceptions, and completed 66.9 percent of his passes. He was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year by conference coaches.[7][8]

In 2013, Walsh and Chelf battled for the starting quarterback spot, after Lunt decided to transfer to Illinois. On August 22, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy announced that both Walsh and Chelf would play in the season opener against Mississippi State on August 31.[8][9] Chelf was named the starter of the Mississippi State game only minutes before kickoff. He engineered two ineffective drives to start the game, before being replaced by Walsh, who played the rest of the game at quarterback. Oklahoma State won the game 21–3 and Walsh finished the game with 135 passing yards, 125 rushing yards, and completed 18-of-27 passes. After the game, Gundy announced that Walsh would be the starting quarterback going forward.[10][11][12] Walsh started the next five games, until he was benched during the game against TCU after throwing two interceptions. He was replaced by Chelf, who started at quarterback for the rest of the season.[13][14]

In 2014, Walsh started the first two games of the season. In the second game of the season against Missouri State, Walsh was knocked out of the game with a right foot injury. The injury required surgical repair and Walsh would miss the remainder of the season. In January 2015, Gundy named Mason Rudolph the starting quarterback going into the 2015 season.[15][16][17]

With Rudolph as the unquestioned starting quarterback, Walsh entered the 2015 season as the backup quarterback. The coaches designed a package of plays specifically for Walsh and by fall practice, it became clear that Walsh would have a role in the offense. While Rudolph was the starter and would take the majority of snaps at quarterback, Walsh would enter the game at quarterback in short-yardage third and fourth down situations, and red-zone situations throughout the season. In the first ten games of the season, Walsh racked up 10 passing and 10 rushing touchdowns.[18] Walsh started the regular season finale against Oklahoma in place of Rudolph, who suffered a foot injury against Baylor on November 21.[19]

Coaching career edit

On January 19, 2016, it was reported that Walsh would be joining the TCU coaching staff as an offensive graduate assistant.[20]

On December 21, 2016, it was reported that Walsh would be joining the staff at Abilene Christian University for the 2017 season as the Running Backs coach.[21]

On March 10, 2020, it was reported that Walsh would be joining the staff at The University of Texas at Austin for the 2020 season as an offensive analyst.[22]

On January 15, 2021, it was announced that Walsh would be returning to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, to join the staff as a Quality Control coach working directly under Quarterbacks coach Tim Rattay.

References edit

  1. ^ "J.W. Walsh - 2015 - Football".
  2. ^ Taylor, John (January 20, 2016). "QB J.W. Walsh moving on from Okla. St. to TCU — as grad assistant". NBCSports.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  3. ^ Mizell, Gina (October 24, 2012). "Oklahoma State football: Clint Chelf might get the starting nod at QB against TCU". NewsOK.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Mizell, Gina (November 10, 2012). "Oklahoma State football: Clint Chelf to start at QB against West Virginia". NewsOK.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  5. ^ Mizell, Gina (October 21, 2012). "Oklahoma State football: J.W. Walsh out for season with knee injury". NewsOK.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  6. ^ Mizell, Gina (October 22, 2012). "Oklahoma State football: No one knew how bad of an injury J.W. Walsh had suffered until Sunday". NewsOK.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  7. ^ Mizell, Gina (October 10, 2013). "Oklahoma State football: J.W. Walsh is known for his toughness". NewsOK.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Greenspan, Dan (August 22, 2013). "Oklahoma State to use Clint Chelf, J.W. Walsh at QB in opener". NFL.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  9. ^ Helsley, John (August 22, 2013). "Oklahoma State football: Cowboys coach Mike Gundy says both QBs will play". NewsOK.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  10. ^ Vint, Patrick (August 31, 2013). "J.W. Walsh named Oklahoma State's new starting QB, Clint Chelf's brother angry". SB Nation. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  11. ^ Vint, Patrick (August 31, 2013). "Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi State 2013 final score: Cowboys grind out 21–3 win over Bulldogs". SB Nation. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  12. ^ Trotter, Jake (September 2, 2013). "J.W. Walsh named starting QB". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  13. ^ "2013 Final Notes and Stats". Oklahoma State Athletics. January 10, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  14. ^ Tramel, Berry (October 22, 2013). "Oklahoma State football: Why J.W. Walsh got benched". NewsOK.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  15. ^ Volk, Pete (September 6, 2014). "Oklahoma State QB J.W. Walsh on crutches after injury". SB Nation. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  16. ^ Trotter, Jake (September 12, 2014). "Daxx Garman to replace J.W. Walsh". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  17. ^ Ubben, David (January 14, 2015). "Gundy names Rudolph Oklahoma State's starting QB". FOXSports.com. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  18. ^ Kercheval, Ben (November 19, 2015). "Why Oklahoma State Has Found Success with 2-QB System This Season". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  19. ^ Fredrickson, Kyle (November 30, 2015). "Oklahoma State football: Mason Rudolph reportedly undergoes surgery on right foot, bowl availability remains in question". NewsOK.com. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  20. ^ Fredrickson, Kyle (January 20, 2016). "Oklahoma State football: J.W. Walsh to reconnect with former Cowboy assistant Doug Meacham at TCU". NewsOK.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  21. ^ Kyle Fredrickson (December 22, 2016). "J.W. Walsh to join Abilene Christian as full-time assistant". www.newsok.com. NewsOK.com. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  22. ^ Chip Brown (March 10, 2020). "Texas hires former Oklahoma State QB J.W. Walsh as analyst". 247 Sports. Retrieved March 11, 2020.