Despite a respectable 600 yards gained in his 2012 rookie season with Hamilton, its been a downhill tale for Chevon Walker since then to the point where is pretty much out of football at 29: a not unusual tale in football, especially for International RBs.

For much of Chevon Walker’s adult life, it’s been Eat, Sleep, Play Football. Repeat.

Football was — and maybe still is — his life.
He got paid for running fast and scoring touchdowns. There’s no bitterness for Walker, who’s been released by four teams since his 2012 CFL rookie season in Hamilton.
But when you wear shoulder pads and a helmet for so long, when you get the adrenaline rush that goes with carrying a football into the end zone, it’s tough to say goodbye.
“I wouldn’t say I gave up on football, I’d say football gave up on me,” he said. “Ottawa released me, I went to Winnipeg. I don’t know what happened. I’m still in shape, I’m still training, I’m still doing what I need to do. If I get a phone call tomorrow, saying, ‘Chevy, we want to work you out,’ I want to be ready.
“I’ve never given up. I may be 29, but I still have a lot in the tank. I haven’t played in the past year-and-a-half, there’s still ability there.”
Yet he’s accepted that phone call may never come. He doesn’t get his hopes up. And now he’s doing a different kind of shaking and baking — in a kitchen.
After being enrolled for a semester in culinary training at Algonquin College, Walker started working at Gezellig, one of the city’s top-rated restaurants, in Westboro Village, on Richmond Rd.
“I couldn’t sit around and do nothing, wondering what’s next. That’s why it was important to move on and find something else,” said Walker. “Cooking has always been something I saw myself doing. Working in a restaurant, I draw a comparison to football: It’s a team effort. For a chef to be a great chef, you have to have a great team. ...


In 2012, Walker burst on to the scene, carrying the ball 118 times for 656 yards. It seemed to signal a bright future. But in 2013, his work load was diminished and he was left unprotected in the expansion draft, grabbed by the Redblacks. It was a fresh start.
In 2014, he scored four touchdowns — with 101 carries for 458 yards and another 22 receptions for 231 yards. He broke his left arm after being drilled in a game against B.C. in September.
In 2015, he had 287 yards rushing on 78 carries in Ottawa. On Aug. 28, he was released, told by the Redblacks they were going to go with Jeremiah Johnson as their starting running back. Just like that, Walker was again out of a job.
“They told me Jeremiah was a better fit,” said Walker. “The said, ‘We don’t feel like you’re doing the things we need you to do.’
http://www.ottawasun.com/2017/02/19/...fb3142ef229cc6