20 Questions: Herschel Walker

Herschel Walker is only 20 years old and in his junior year at the University of Georgia, but many football observers believe he is already the best running back in the history of the game. An honors student in both high school and college, he also has a fetish for clean living.

Contributing Editor Anson Mount talked with him in Athens, Georgia, on a recent Sunday afternoon. Says Mount: "I found him hitting the books in his dormitory room."

1.

[Q] Playboy: You must have trouble buying clothes that fit.

[A] Walker: Gee, yes, a lot of trouble, because I have a small waist, my legs are big and my shoulders are real broad. If the pants fit my legs, they have to be taken in about ten inches in the waist and they don't look so hot. Just about all my clothes have to be tailor-made, and that's expensive. I just don't have the time for a job and I feel very guilty about asking my folks for money, so I don't have many clothes. I can't go long between wash loads.

2.

[Q] Playboy: You're into martial arts. Usually, one takes up self-defense because one gets picked on a lot. That didn't happen to you, did it?

[A] Walker: When I was young, I was real little, and I got beaten up a lot. I was the runt in my class from first to sixth grade. But the main reason I got into martial arts was that I saw a lot of movies and TV and I wanted to be known as one of the bad guys. When I got into it, I realized it helped me in logical thinking and respect for others. And in return, it made them respect me. It's also helped me control myself.

3.

[Q] Playboy: Very few players are as composed as you are on the field. How do you control your anger?

[A] Walker: If a person's going to cheapshot me, it just shows how low he is. And I don't think I'm low. I'd rather play a guy straight up. I'd rather look someone straight in the eye and hit him with a look instead of my fist.

4.

[Q] Playboy: You have a 3.2 grade point average—an accomplishment not shared by many of your college football colleagues. Do you take a full load during the season?

[A] Walker: I overload. A full load is 12 hours and I take about 20—but sometimes only 17. I enjoy calculus, history and philosophy—it depends on the professors. I don't take any gut courses, and I've always managed to find enough time to study—usually real late at night. I'm majoring in prelaw and I'm thinking about going to law school later.

5.

[Q] Playboy: We hear you'd like to work for the CIA or the FBI. Why?

[A] Walker: I love excitement, and those jobs seem exciting to me. Also, enforcing the law is something I could do to help society.

6.

[Q] Playboy: How could you ever work undercover?

[A] Walker: Well, maybe I could put on some make-up.

7.

[Q] Playboy: On the way here, there was a crowd of high school cheerleaders waiting to see you. How do you apportion your time among all the young ladies who are trying to attract your attention?

[A] Walker: The University of Georgia has a lot of good-looking ladies oncampus, but I date only one person. That's one reason I can keep my head together. She's a girl who cares for my feelings and not for my athletic ability or what I might do in the future. She's someone for whom love is something special. You can care for a lot of people, but you can care deep down inside for only one person. She is a person I care deep down inside for.

8.

[Q] Playboy: Which school has the prettiest cheerleaders?

[A] Walker: Georgia has the prettiest ones, of course. After that, it's Florida. But I'm usually so busy playing, I don'thave time to notice.

9.

[Q] Playboy: What music do you like?

[A] Walker: Disco music. I love to dance and I like any music that can get me moving.

10.

[Q] Playboy: Apparently, there's a lot of drug use even in college athletics. Ever get involved in that?

[A] Walker: NO. My body is a temple that I should keep sacred and clean. You have to deal with problems, and even if you take $1,000,000 worth of drugs, your problems are still going to be there when the money's gone.

11.

[Q] Playboy: What do you do to get in shape for football? Do you lift weights?

[A] Walker: NO, I never lift weights. While the other players are doing that, I'm running track.

12.

[Q] Playboy: People your size need a lot of food to keep going, don't they?

[A] Walker: I don't eat a lot. My favorite foods are hamburgers and cheeseburgers. I used to eat a lot of junk food, but now I'm not eating that much of anything. I don't know how I maintain my weight. It's sort of strange, because I stay the same weight year after year.

13.

[Q] Playboy: If the money were the same, would you rather be a track star or a professional football player?

[A] Walker: A track star, because I love track. But I'm a better football player, and I think you should do what you are best at.

14.

[Q] Playboy: Do you watch much football on TV? (concluded on page 236)

Herschel Walker(continued from page 197)

[A] Walker: No. I rarely watch games. But I am a Dallas Cowboys fan.

15.

[Q] Playboy: You were one of the most sought-after football players in history when you were in high school. What was the best under-the-table offer you got?

[A] Walker: I got a lot of them. But you can't cheat your way through life. Those offers sounded good when coaches were recruiting me, but after I committed myself, it might have been a different story. One school said they would move my family to another city and guarantee my financial security for the rest of my life. But I knew that would never happen. I also had a lot of car offers; but during my senior year, my mother and father bought me a car for graduation, so I told the recruiters I didn't need another one.

16.

[Q] Playboy: We've heard that some of the people in your home town—Wrightsville, Georgia—freaked out when you were seen playing tennis with a white girl in high school. What was that all about?

[A] Walker: At the time, there were a lot of racial things going on in Wrightsville, but I don't get involved with that kind of thing, because all of us have to live in this world. I don't believe in all this racial controversy. Some of the people in town wanted me to lead a riot, but I didn't think it was right, because I didn't know that much about the issues. I wasn't in town much during that time. They said I didn't want to help them. I couldn't help them if I didn't know what the fuss was all about. And I couldn't help them out if I disagreed with some of their ideas.

17.

[Q] Playboy: Why are there no black place kickers?

[A] Walker: A lot of people say it's a racial thing. But if it is racial, it's because black people are, in general, blessed with strength and speed and quickness and they are too valuable in other positions to make place kickers out of them.

18.

[Q] Playboy: Should college football players be allowed to turn pro before they graduate, as basketball players are?

[A] Walker: College athletes should have the right to decide for themselves. Playing in the N.F.L. is a professional job. A person should have the right to decide whether or not he wants to go to work. If a player gets injured in college, the N.F.L. is not going to draft you. You don't come out of college.

19.

[Q] Playboy: Which pro team do you hope will draft you?

[A] Walker: I'm not going to name names, but I wouldn't join a team whose players think negative and play just for the money. Also, I'm not a cold-weather guy.

20.

[Q] Playboy: How important to you is winning the Heisman Trophy?

[A] Walker: The only reason I would like to win it is that I didn't win it the past two years. When you lose something over and over, you get to where you want to win it. But I don't think it would prove anything to me. If I never win the Heisman Trophy, then in my later years, I'll have nothing to sit around and brag about.

"I wouldn't join a team whose players think negative and play just for the money."