By Cindy Maciel — Reporter
No. 10, San Jose State wide receiver Tre Walker, catches the pass at Aloha Stadium’s 45 yard line. Walker rushes past the 30, 20 and 10-yard lines to bulldoze through the end zone for a touchdown.
With the ball still in hand, he drops it when he reaches the nearby barricade. With his right hand he gestures a religious cross from his forehead down to his chest then left to right at each shoulder, expressing gratitude after making a big play for his team.
The yellow and blue uniformed players show excitement with celebration on the field.
“Seen this more than a few times…lol,” tweeted Manuel Douglas.
The former Narbonne High School football coach retweeted Walker’s touchdown from San Jose State Football’s Twitter page. Douglas was Walker’s former football instructor in Narbonne High School. “He was with me since the ninth grade,” Douglas said.
Walker grew up in the Southern California neighborhood of Inglewood. Narbonne’s football team was known for winning and Douglas led his football program to win eight City Section titles. Walker’s athleticism was never a question to Douglas.
“He’s got uncanny body control, he’s got great hands and he runs fantastic routes but for him it was always maturity,” Douglas said.
While he coached his students in football he also made sure he kept his players in good academic standing off the field, including Walker.
Without a father figure in Walker’s life to guide him, Douglas was always there to help.
The greatest moment Douglas remembers with Walker was when he decided to bench him for six games during his junior year for disciplinary reasons. As bad as Douglas felt benching one of his best players he did it anyway because he had the receiver’s best interests in mind.
His senior year was phenomenal. With 77 receptions, 1290 yards and 16 touchdowns he was named the 2016 Los Angeles City Division I Offensive Player of the Year. Numbers like that don’t come without a drem to look towards.
To help manifest that destiny Walker has had to speak it into existence.
San Jose State senior and english literature major Jacob Lee met Walker four years ago during their freshman orientation. They connected while sharing common interests in sports and they both enrolled into Spartan athletics as Lee was a water polo player at the time. Lee played football at an earlier age as a wide receiver which sparked their football conversation.
Lee was doubtful about anyone going into professional sports from San Jose State. “Tre told me he wanted to make it into the NFL,” Lee said.
“I said ‘Dude there’s no way.’ Almost poking fun at him because I didn’t think he was going to be as good as he is.”
Lee chuckled as he admitted he was naive with his comments as he continues to see Walker raise his football career as a player this season. “Yeah I kind of was a hater at the time. I’m not gonna lie,” Lee said truthfully.
Tre Walker is third in San Jose State’s history in receptions and receiving yards. Brent Brennan is now part of that history as the football team’s current coach. Walker credits him as the reason he enrolled at SJSU.
“God blessed me and Coach Brennan blessed me with the opportunity to come here to play football,” Walker said.
Brennan continually praises his players about the level of maturity and discipline they have shown this season. Practices are particularly grueling with the pandemic still being a hurdle for the team. The amount of care each player demonstrates towards each other, Brennan mentions, is the main reason the team has been doing so well this time around.
“Our chemistry is critical,” Brennan said. “Our team has a good track record even with COVID right now.”
In Joan Ryan’s book “Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry,” she explains the importance of carrying a certain type of energy that is contagious to people around you. In this case those people are teammates. With good care and treating teammates like family winning is undeniable.
“Tre is awesome,” said tight end Dominick Mazotti with a huge smile on his face. “When there’s a crowd he likes to hype the crowd up for the games too. Off the field he’s always offering rides to players that don’t have cars and I’ve rode with him a couple of times. He’s great to play on the team with.”
This season with Tre Walker being one of the elite players, the team’s chemistry shows with each game they play.
About their chemistry, Brennan thinks that’s absolutely why they’re playing better football.
For the love of sport, a focused athlete will show heart, determination and redemption.
Selflessness, teamwork, communication, discipline and growth are all qualities No. 10 carries since his days in Inglewood. Tre Walker has come a long way.
The numbers one and zero coincidentally have a unique meaning in quantum mechanics. When both numbers are combined at the same time they are called “superposition.” The wide receiver might not have a personal meaning for his jersey number but he might be able to carry his superposition into the NFL.
“He’s made 10 pretty special,” Douglas said.
Follow Cindy on Twitter @CindyMaciel20