Tag: David Wallis

Panthers P Johnny Hekker hits Patriots returner with ‘too small’ taunt

When you’re a 6-foot-5, 225-pound punter, you can pull out the ol’ “too small” celebration.

There weren’t many, if any, highlights to take away for the Carolina Panthers in their lackluster preseason opener against the New England Patriots. But the 17-3 loss on Thursday night did at least give us one laugh.

That chuckle came courtesy of punter Johnny Hekker, who pulled out the ol’ “too short” taunt after picking up a stop on Patriots wide receiver and returner David Wallis . . .

The 13th-year punter whiffed on a tackle attempt on one of his earlier boots, an effort that didn’t go unnoticed to those watching. So perhaps Hekker was feeling quite good about getting some redemption upon walling Wallis.

He may have earned the right to do so anyway, as the 34-year-old was trotted out for a total of 10 punts on the night. Hekker averaged 46.4 yards per attempt with a long of 58.

Oh, and he’s not factually incorrect about the “too small” gesture either. Hekker measures in at a pretty big 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, with Wallis at six-foot and 184 pounds.

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Report: Rookie tryout WR lands contract with Patriots

The Patriots have reportedly added to their receivers room

The New England Patriots signed wide receiver David Wallis on Monday afternoon. Wallis was part of rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

He played for Randolph Macon College and had an outstanding season in 2023. He led the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with 957 receiving yards and 18.1 yards per reception. He had 12 receiving touchdowns on the year.

Wallis also holds the program record with 34 career receiving touchdowns. For his efforts, he was recently named to the All-ODAC First-Team for the second year in a row.

That success reached even beyond the Randolph Macon program with him being named to the All-Region First-Team by D3Football.com.

New England has worked this offseason to try and get as much receiving depth as possible.

It has been an area of need throughout the offseason, and there’s hope that adding Wallis to the fold continues to address it. At the very least, this gives the Patriots another body to work with and potentially develop at the position.