NFL player will lead Head Start parade

Tyrunn Walker, current Detroit Lions and former New Orleans Saints football player, has been named grand marshal of the 2016 St. Mary-Vermilion CAA/Head Start Program Krewe of Head Start Parade.
The parade begins at 1 p.m. Saturday from from Anderson Caffery Drive (behind Franklin High School), turns onto Main Street and proceeds to downtown Franklin. It then turns onto Willow Street and turns right onto Third Street, where it disbands.
This year’s theme is “Head Start Changing with the Times,” to showcase the ever evolving programs and activities the agency continues to implement.
Walker is a 2008 graduate of Westgate High School, where he played football and basketball. He earned All-District and All-State honors in football and All-District honors in basketball. He was also a part of Westgate’s 2008 basketball team that won the District 5A basketball championship.
Walker played football for Jones County Junior College, where he was a two-year letter winner and was named to the first-team NJCAA All-America team in 2009. By the end of his sophomore season he earned first-team All-Conference, All-Region and All-State honors. Walker was named the Most Valuable Lineman in the Conference’s South Division.
Walker, 25, spent his final two years of collegiate football at Tulsa University where he started all games for both seasons, and finished with 84 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 11 pass deflections and four forced fumbles. Walker’s lifetime dream of playing professional football for his favorite team, the New Orleans Saints, came to fruition in 2012 when the Saints signed him as an undrafted free agent. He made the 53-man squad, but didn’t play his rookie season. He played in seven games his second season and 16 games in his third season.
In 2015 when the Saints didn’t re-sign Walker, the Detroit Lions signed him to a one-year unrestricted offer. Detroit Lions coaches had nothing but high praise for the 6-foot-3, 300- pound defensive end, and even called him one of the NFL’s grittiest players.
He started off the 2015 season with ample playing time and had netted 9 tackles through four games. However he broke his leg and has been rehabilitating since then.
As much as Walker is living his dream of playing football in the NFL, the personable young man is also living out his dream of giving back to his community. He has joined forces with other local professional football players to donate turkeys to families for Thanksgiving and partnered with the Sugarland Optimist Club to sponsor a yearly football camp for area children. “I want to give kids a chance to get off the streets, have fun and do something they enjoy doing,” Walker said.
Walker, along with his mother, Eleanor Shaw, sponsors an annual Christmas Toy Drive that benefits hundreds of children and families. “Everything I do, it’s for the community,” he said. “God blessed me so I want to bless others.” Walker is the son of Jimmie and Eleanor Shaw.
Entries are still being accepted for the parade. An entry form may be obtained at the St. Mary CAA Central Office, located at 1407 Barrow Street in Franklin. This form must be completed along with a copy of your insurance. For more information, please contact David Teno or Jeffery Beverly at 337-828-5703.
Lineup begins at 11:00 am in the Franklin Sr. High School secured back parking area (located off Highway 182 in Franklin, La.)