Ryan Walters

2008 Media Guide Bio: 

AT COLORADO: This Season (Sr.)— Colorado’s starting free safety. He missed spring football completing rehabilitation from off-season shoulder surgery to clean up some chronic problems. Phil Steele’s College Football selected him to its preseason third-team All-Big 12 squad, and ranked him as the No. 20 free safety in the nation.

2007 (Jr.)—Started 12 games including the Independence Bowl, as he missed the Iowa State game while recovering from the adverse affects of a concussion. He was presented with the Tiger Bussey Award at CU’s postseason banquet for his perseverance over adversity, injury and/or illness. He finished fifth on the team in tackles with 63 (31 solo), as he was in for 705 snaps from scrimmage. He had five pass deflections, four third down stops, three near-sacks, two forced fumbles, two pressures and a fumble recovery. He had a career-high 16 tackles in the season opener against Colorado State (8 solo), and had seven tackles in four other games, versus Arizona State, Texas Tech, Missouri and Nebraska. His one interception during the regular season was a big one, coming late in the third quarter against No. 3 Oklahoma; it led to a CU touchdown that cut the deficit to 24-17 in what would eventually be a 27-24 CU win. In the bowl against Alabama he had a big game, with eight tackles (seven solo, two for losses including a quarterback sack), two third down stops and an interception he returned 35 yards to the ‘Bama 43, which set up CU’s first touchdown and basically reversed the momentum the remainder of the game as the Tide were at midfield looking to build on a 27-0 lead. He was a preseason first-team All-Big 12 selection by both Athlon and The Sporting News.

2006 (Soph.)—He played in 11 games, including 10 starts, missing the Baylor game with a stinger. He tied for fifth on the team in tackles with 57 (41 solo, one for a loss), with four third down stops, three pass deflections, two chasedowns (near sacks), a forced fumble and a recovery. He earned Big 12 Conference defensive player of the week honors for his efforts in CU’s 30-6 win over Texas Tech, as he had four tackles (two solo), two interceptions (the first pair of his career) and two third down stops. His 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown at Kansas was the second longest fumble (as well as miscellaneous) return in CU history, second only to a 96-yard one by Ben Kelly in 1999, also against Kansas; only 23 other plays in CU history were long (all returns). He was the only defensive player to score a touchdown for Colorado on the season. He had a season- and career-high 11 tackles (eight solo) in the Arizona State game, and also had eight versus Missouri and Kansas (six solo in both). 2005 (Fr.-RS)—He saw action in 12 games including the Champs Sports Bowl, as he missed the Kansas State game with a shoulder injury. In nine games from scrimmage during the regular season, he played 163 snaps from scrimmage in making 16 tackles (12 solo), with two quarterback hurries. He had a season-high four tackles, three unassisted, against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game, and had three tackles against the Longhorns in the regular season and also against New Mexico State. On special teams, he logged three solo stops and two knockdown blocks in accumulating five points. He had a solo tackle in the bowl game against Clemson. He progressed rapidly during spring drills, and the coaching staff recognized his progress by naming him the recipient of the inaugural Dick Anderson Award as the most improved player on defense.

2004 (Fr.)—Redshirted; did not see any action though he practiced at free safety when healthy. He suffered a broken thumb in mid-September and missed seven weeks of practice before he could return. He was the Scout Team Defense Award winner for the Nebraska game as selected by the coaching staff. He had entered the fall as a reserve quarterback; he enrolled at CU in January after graduating from high school in Decemberbut an illness prevented him from practicing for most of spring ball, though he got some limited non-contact work in toward the end of drills. He was moved to the secondary after fall camp began. HIGH SCHOOL—As a senior, he earned honorable mention all-state honors from both the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News, while earning second-team All-Centennial League accolades. SuperPrep named him to its All-America team, ranking him as the No. 18 quarterback in the nation, while Prep Football Report and PrepStar named him All-Midlands (PFR rate d him the No. 14 overall player in the region, and the fourth quarterback). A three-year starter at quarterback with over 4,000 career yards and a 36-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio, he was 13th in the state in passing yards with 1,549 (59.2 completion percentage, 14 TDs), limiting his running as he played hurt a good portion of the season as he played in just nine games. As a junior when he earned first-team all-state honors by the Post as an athlete (and second-team all-league honors), he piloted Grandview to a 7-0 mark before suffering season-ending shoulder and knee injuries. He had rushed for 660 yards and 12 scores, averaging 6.3 yards per rush, while completing 54-of-107 passes for 816 yards and seven scores. He threw for 1,570 yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore, rushing for 700 yards and six touchdowns, including the longest play of his prep career, a 93-yard scoring run. As a freshman, he was the second-team quarterback and only saw spot action, but also played some wide receiver in catching four passes for 40 yards and a score while rushing for 55 yards and two touchdowns. Top games: in a win over Doherty as a sophomore, he rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns along with passing for 200 and a score; in a wild 51-46 win over Boulder as a junior, he rushed for 200 yards and three TDs while passing for 250 and two scores; and as a senior in a last minute loss to Fairview, he threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns. One of his top high school moments came when he quarterbacked GHS to a win over Cherry Creek when he did not attempt a single pass due to an injured shoulder. Grandview was 8-3 his senior year, 7-4 his junior season, 9-2 and Grand Peaks League champions his sophomore campaign, and 7-3 his freshman year under coach Rocky Whitworth.

ACADEMICS—He is majoring in History at Colorado, while also earning a minor in Atmospheric Science; he is on schedule to graduate in May 2008. He was a December high school graduate and enrolled at CU early (for the 2004 spring semester). He was an honor roll student as a senior in high school with a 3.0 grade point average.

PERSONAL—He was born January 21, 1986 in Los Angeles, Calif. His father, Marc, played quarterback at CU between 1986-89, remarkably coming back at one point from a career-threatening knee injury; he owns a school record as he established the best single game passing rating (any amount of attempts) when he recorded a 353.3 at Kansas State in 1989. The younger Walters is active in his church, and was the second commitment of CU’s 2004 recruiting class, pledging to sign with the Buffs on March 10, 2003.