SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III called his Super Bowl performance and MVP award a “surreal” accomplishment that a dream-filled child from Tennessee would've never believed.
“If I would have told myself as a kid, I wouldn’t have guessed that I would be the one to win the MVP,” Walker told reporters shortly after he won the honor. “So it’s a surreal moment.”
In high school, Walker was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs that appeared to have ended his football career, but seeking additional opinions led to blood thinner medication that got him back on the football field.
“When a doctor told me I couldn’t play no more, I just thought football was over,” he recalled. “So it was a shocking moment. But you know, my dad worked with me throughout that whole process, and he was in the hospital with me, as well, and my mom."
That experience, Walker added, "made me grateful for each and every day to be able to go out there and strap up and play this game and still be alive.”
When teammate and fellow running back Zach Charbonnet tore an ACL in the playoff win over San Francisco, Walker said, he knew his workload would increase.
“You know, for somebody like that to get hurt, it sucks,” Walker said. “I wrote his number on my wrist. I was going to show it when I scored, but I didn’t get to score a touchdown. But yeah, he supported me through everything.”
Walker, a fourth-year pro, rushed for a game-high 135 yards as Seattle’s offense did enough to let its defense smother New England into submission.
"I'm really happy for Ken; he played a tremendous game," Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said.
"Everyone really dedicated themselves to the run game today, which is something we had to get going to really control the game," Macdonald added. "And I think this is one of the best versions of Ken that we've [seen] up to this point."
Walker became the first running back to win Super Bowl MVP since Terrell Davis in 1998.
Walker said he hopes his game Sunday night can make his position the headline job it once was.
"You know, back in the day, people used to love running backs," he said. "So I just hope we get that same energy back sometime soon."
This was the final year of Walker's contact with Seattle, so he'll have this Super Bowl MVP honor on his résumé as he tests free agency this spring and summer.
