Incarnate Word's Jalen Walthall, 2,000 Yards and 22 TDs, Eyes NFL Draft

Two seasons at Incarnate Word produced numbers that belong in a different conversation than the one most NFL scouts are having about FCS receivers. Jalen Walthall finished 2024 as the third-leading receiver in all of NCAA football, not just the FCS, logging 1,290 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Cardinals. He followed that with 847 yards and eight scores in 2025 while dealing with injuries, pushing his two-season UIW totals to 2,137 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns. FCS Football Central currently ranks him the No. 7 FCS prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Walthall transferred to UIW from Hawaii before the 2024 season and wasted no time establishing himself as the Southland Conference's most dangerous vertical receiver. He topped 100 receiving yards in nine games across his two seasons with the Cardinals, including a 220-yard eruption against UTRGV last fall. His full college career, which includes his time at Hawaii, spans 40 games, 192 receptions, 2,595 receiving yards, and 24 receiving touchdowns.

The 2024 season alone earned him a stack of hardware: consensus All-American honors, First-Team AP FCS All-American, First-Team FCS Football Central All-American, Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and a Walter Payton Award finalist nod. He repeated as First-Team All-Southland in 2025.

Scouts describe his game as built around a quick early burst, an ability to fight through contact on vertical routes, and top-end speed that stresses secondaries deep. Green19's scouting profile, published March 16, described him as "a productive, explosive vertical threat in the FCS who has an intriguing combination of ball-tracking ability, high-point skill, and lower-body" athleticism. A separate scouting report elaborated that Walthall "does a good job of initially fighting through contact to stay on his vertical path and possesses good top-end speed to stretch the field."

The pre-draft process has gone well. Walthall participated in the NFL Scouting Combine, then appeared at UIW's Pro Day last Wednesday alongside Cardinals linebacker Declan Williams, who earned East-West Shrine Bowl recognition. NFL personnel also gathered at UTSA's Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence that same day, where representatives from 18 teams watched more than a dozen regional prospects. Walthall "aimed to build on his NFL Scouting Combine numbers from last month and succeeded in improving his marks," according to KSAT's coverage of the event.

The 2026 NFL Draft runs April 23-25 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. If Walthall hears his name called, he will become the first player in Incarnate Word program history to be selected. The Cardinals have never had a draftee. That historical footnote is the kind of thing that sounds like a minor detail until you realize what it means: for two full seasons, UIW produced one of the most statistically dominant receivers in college football, and the program had never once sent a player to the league. Walthall is the reason that changes.