Oklahoma football: Casey Walker said absence for 'personal issues' is in the past

Walker watched as senior defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland and defensive end David King took every snap. But in the first game against UTEP, the defense didn't give up any points. Florida A&M managed just one touchdown in the Sooners' next game.

Now that a month has passed, Walker, a senior defensive lineman, has put everything that came before the Kansas State game behind him.

Walker said he never debated whether to keep on playing. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Walker's absence was not due to a football-related injury. When the news first came out and reporters asked if Walker remained healthy through fall camp, Stoops replied, “For the most part.”

Walker talked to the media this week for the first time since he took his personal leave and confirmed it wasn't anything “physically wrong.”

He followed with, “That's kind of in the past.”

That's what his mother, Natalie Pipken, said when asked about the rumors that were swirling around her son.

“Oh, that's in the past,” Pipken said. “We've already moved forward.”

Forward to Kansas State, Walker's first game back, where he said he played the entire game. Forward to Texas Tech, where the 6-foot-3, 309-pounder was named one of the defensive players of the game by the team.

Forward to Dallas, where the Texas Longhorns and running back Joe Bergeron are hoping to run down the OU defense.