Irvington’s Kareem Walker chooses University of Michigan football

IRVINGTON – The Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry just got a bit more intense.

That’s because Irvington resident Kareem Walker, a senior running back at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, has decided to sign a National Letter of Intent with the University of Michigan, a month after he reneged on his months-long commitment to Ohio State University.

Walker announced his decision on Thursday, Dec. 17, during a press conference at DePaul Catholic. He picked Michigan over Alabama, Auburn, Florida State and Arizona State.

Walker reportedly will graduate  this week and enroll at Michigan next month.

Walker is ranked as the No. 1 running back in the nation, according to both ESPN.com and Rivals.com. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior led the DePaul football team to its third straight state championship this season.

Walker ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns to lead Wayne-based DePaul to a 40-17 win over St. John Vianney in the state Non-Public Group 3 title game at Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions  Stadium in Piscataway on Dec. 6. DePaul, the No. 7 seed, finished the season with a 6-6 record. DePaul won the state Non-Public Group 2 titles in 2013 and 2014.

Walker rushed for 1,517 yards and 13 touchdowns on 215 carries this season.

Walker committed to Ohio State during halftime of the national championship game between Ohio State and Oregon in January. Ohio State went on to beat Oregon. He reneged on his commitment to the Buckeyes on Nov. 3.