Kani Walker injury update: Sam Pittman offers update after being stretchered off, hospitalized

Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman provided an update on Kani Walker after he was hospitalized following a collision with a teammate Saturday. The defensive back appeared to hit his head and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.

“Kani is good, thanks for the question,” Pittman said. “Kani came back with the team. He’s good, I don’t know whether he’ll be able to play or not right now, honestly. He’s been assessed, obviously, by the doctors and by Vance, but we’re just happy that he’s healthy, and going to be able to recover from all that. But I don’t know how fast.”

The ESPN broadcast later reported that Walker had been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. Sideline reporter Taylor McGregor added that the defensive back was confirmed to have movement in all of his extremities.

The injury occurred with 14:51 remaining in the fourth quarter after Walker appeared to hit his head on a Razorbacks teammate. He remained on the field for several moments as medical staff tended to him and carfully loaded him on the stretcher before taking him away.

Players from both sides gathered around to send him off as the crowd in Oxford also sent their well wishes to him through claps and cheers. The DB gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was carted off.

Walker is in his first season with the Razorbacks after playing the previous three seasons at Oklahoma. He started nine games for the Sooners in 2024 to finish with 24 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and six passes defended.

Originally, Walker committed to Louisville out of high school and played one season for the Cardinals before transferring to Oklahoma. He played high school football at Douglas County (GA), where he was a three-star prospect. He ranked as the No. 846 overall player and No. 79 cornerback in the 2021 cycle according to the On3 | Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.

Walker finished Saturday’s contest with six tackles and one pass defended prior to his injury. Unfortunately, Arkansas would go on to lose the game 41-35 after fumbling the ball away with 1:52 remaining.

With the loss, Arkansas dropped to 2-1 (0-1 SEC) on the young season. The Razorbacks will hope for good news on the injury to Kani Walker ahead of a matchup against Memphis in Week 4.

Chandler Vessels contributed to this report