Walter Mendenhall

Walter Mendenhall (born January 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini from 2005 to 2007 before transferring and playing for the Illinois State Redbirds in 2008. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and was also a member of the Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals. He is the brother of former Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall.

Early life Mendenhall grew up in Skokie, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He attended Niles West High School, where he and younger brother Rashard Mendenhall formed a powerful backfield combination. In October 2002, Walter, at age 16, rushed for 225 yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for 31 yards. He gained 3,600 all-purpose yards as a high school football player at Niles West.

Walter also played basketball at Niles West, and was recruited by several schools to play college basketball.

As the Mendenhall brothers were recruited by various colleges, their mother, Sibyl Mendenhall, established the rules. She recalled, "We were getting inundated. Location was a large consideration, so the family could see them play. We narrowed it down to three schools, and then I asked the coaches to take them both. It was important to them to be at the same school. They looked at film and offered both of them [scholarships], per my request."

College career Illinois In August 2003, Mendenahll announced his commitment to play football at the University of Illinois as part of the incoming class of 2004; younger brother Rashard had previously committed to Illinois. He played college football from 2005 to 2007 for the Illinois Fighting Illini. As a redshirt freshman in 2005, Mendenhall saw action principally at the linebacker position. The following year, he drew attention when he outgained brother Rashard at the running back position and was named the offensive star of Illinois' spring game in April 2006. He appeared in 31 games for Illinois, seeing time at running back, linebacker and on special teams. In 2007, Mendenhall rushed for 57 yards on four carries against Minnesota, his only carries of the season. He ran for 30 yards on his first carry of the season. In June 2008, he transferred to Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, and enrolled as a graduate student. He did not have a scholarship at Illinois State and made the decision to transfer at the recommendation from a former high school teammate. He had four 100-yard rushing games. He rushed for 811 yards and 11 touchdowns for Illinois State in 2008. and Sports Illustrated picked him as one of its 12 small school "draft sleepers." While Mendenhall was not drafted, he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in April 2009 as an undrafted free agent. He was waived on June 11, 2009.

Mendenhall was signed by the Indianapolis Colts on August 13, 2009. He was waived on August 18, and re-signed on August 22. He appeared in three pre-season games for the Colts,

Mendenhall was signed by the Buffalo Bills on April 7, 2010, but then waived on May 12, 2010. He was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals on May 13, 2010, but waived again on June 18, 2010.

Brother Rashard Mendenhall has played at the running back position for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals since 2008 and was a member of the Steelers' Super Bowl XLIII championship team.

Later life In the fall of 2010, after being released by the Bills, Mendenhall became an assistant football coach at Niles North High School in Skokie. He noted at the time that he was still training and hoped to have another shot at playing in the NFL.