Hawaii transfer Jalen Walthall emerges as UIW's top wideout
Spending his first three years of college football at Hawaii, Incarnate Word receiver Jalen Walthall said the biggest lesson he learned was how to be independent.
The Manvel product struggled to keep in touch with friends and family five time zones away in the Houston area, and having them in the stands for a game was out of the question.
Hawaii's beauty lived up to its reputation – "a great vacation spot," Walthall said – but it never felt like home. He preferred his Texas barbecue over a diet of sushi and seafood.
Walthall decided to return closer to his roots with a transfer to UIW, and with his family on hand for his debut at Benson Stadium three weeks ago, Walthall hauled in five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
"I haven't had that since I've been in college," Walthall said, "so it for sure felt good to play in front of them, and play the way I played."
Sticking at UIW for final season, Zach Calzada aims to lead deep playoff run in 2024Walthall hasn't slowed down since, cracking 100 yards receiving in each of his first three games as a Cardinal. His average of 114.7 receiving yards per game ranks fourth in the FCS, and he's the only player nationally to notch five touchdown catches.
For a UIW offense that lost its five leading receivers from last season, Walthall has combined with Albany transfer wideout Roy Alexander to keep the Cardinals humming through the air.
"We thought we had kind of a steal with him," UIW coach Clint Killough said. "We recruited him a little bit on the high school circuit, so I knew he was a heck of a player. Obviously, we lost a bunch from last year, but with the guys we were able to sign from January through May, I knew we were going to be just fine in that room."
Signing with UIW in January and joining the team for spring practice, Walthall said he found many of the passing concepts in the Cardinals offense to be similar to what he experienced at Hawaii.
The fight for a spot on the depth chart at wide receiver was "real competitive" among a group full of newcomers, Walthall said, but he felt the whole offense "meshed together quick."
Returning quarterback Zach Calzada said Walthall emerged as an early standout because of his speed, his ability to beat press coverage at the line of scrimmage and his skill tracking the ball in the air.
"Overall, he's a really good receiver," Calzada said. "Those other guys are doing a fantastic job, too. You never know who is going to have a hot hand in a game. Any of those guys could have a performance like that in any given game this year."
Walthall redshirted at Hawaii in 2021 and then was an on-and-off starter the next season, finishing with 27 catches for 333 yards and a touchdown.
He followed a similar pattern through five games in 2023 before a conversation with his family and the Hawaii coaching staff revealed that "we all just felt like it was time to move on from the situation," Walthall said. He shared his intent to enter the transfer portal midseason, sitting out the rest of the year after making 10 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown.
He admitted he was "a little scared to hop in the portal," but he found the process was smooth. Interest was initially a bit slow to develop, but a conversation with Killough turned him on to UIW's winning culture, a group of coaches who seemed genuine, and the opportunity to be closer to home.
Walthall said he also felt no reservations about moving down a level from FBS to FCS.
"After being in college so long, you start to see that if you can ball, they'll find you," Walthall said. "Ball is ball everywhere, at every level."
Already eclipsing his production from either season at Hawaii through just three games at UIW, Walthall said he's been motivated by the feeling that his "goals are in reach," believing a strong tenure with the Cardinals can springboard him to the NFL.
His other primary motivator, he said, is being close to family. Since his time playing youth football, his dad gave him the nickname "Pac-Man," because "all he does is eat all game," Walthall said.
Expecting to see his loved ones in the Benson Stadium stands for a few more home games this year, he has no plans of slowing down.
