CANTON, Ohio – Former University of Central Missouri Mules football standout tight end and UCM Athletic Hall of Famer Delanie Walker was selected as a nominee for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class.

Walker, who played for the Mules from 2004-2005 under UCM Athletic Hall of Fame head coach Willie Fritz, was one of 167 players to be nominated for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class.

Walker was a two-time All-MIAA and All-Region selection in his two years with Mules Football and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors as a junior. He was selected to play in the Las Vegas All-Star Classic following his senior season.

Walker was drafted in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and played in Super Bowl XLVII with the team. He enjoyed a 14-year NFL career with both the 49ers and Tennessee Titans.

Over his 14-year career, Walker recorded 504 receptions for 5,888 yards and 36 touchdowns in 183 games. During his time with the Titans, he was named to the Pro Bowl in 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Walker officially retired from the NFL in October of 2022.

He was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015 and the MIAA Hall of Fame in 2016.

Walker is one of 16 former NFL players who are first-time nominees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame class. The roster of nominees consists of 94 offensive players, 56 defensive players and 17 special teams players.

In the next step in the selection process, a screening committee will reduce the list to 50 (plus ties, if any, for the 50th spot).

The full 50-person Hall of Fame Selection Committee then will reduce the list further – to 25 Semifinalists, later this fall. Another vote will create the list of 15 Finalists who will be discussed at the annual meeting ahead of Super Bowl LVIX that will produce the new class, which can consist of three, four or five Modern-Era Players under the Hall of Fame's bylaws.