Kani Walker update: ESPN broadcast gives positive news after Arkansas defender hospitalized

Some positive news emerged after Arkansas defensive back Kani Walker left Saturday’s game vs. Ole Miss with a scary-looking injury. Walker had to be taken off the field on a stretcher to start the fourth quarter after looking to hit his head when he ran into a teammate.

ESPN’s Taylor McGregor offered an update on the broadcast shortly after, saying that Walker had been taken to the hospital to receiver further evaluation. She also reported that he had movement in his extremeties, which will certainly be news fans on both sides are happy to hear.

“I was just given direct report from Arkansas officials. They are taking him to Baptist Memorial Hospital here in Oxford,” McGregor said. “He is moving extremeties so that is good news and they say they are taking him to the hospital out of precaution.”

Another positive sign was that Walker gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was carted off the field. It seems as if the defender was at least avoided the worst case scenario, and we’ll hope for more good news in the updates the follow postgame.

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.

Until then, we’ll closely monitor press conferences and social media for any more updates on the Arkansas defender. We should know more information by early next week when coach Sam Pittman holds his weekly press conference.