ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was a riveting story that unfortunately didn’t have a happy ending. After a long battle with Leukemia, Demetrius ‘Meechie’ Walker passed away on Dec. 9, 2022.
Walker’s story first became of regional interest when Michigan football brought him in during fall camp, where he got to live out his dreams of being a Wolverine. In the video shared by the team’s official Twitter account, Walker, who had lost the use of his legs after an amputation, was given the ball and pushed into the endzone by head Jim Harbaugh for a touchdown. From there, he became an inspiration to the team, and even of national interest as the major networks started airing his story.
But just days after Michigan beat Purdue in the Big Ten Championship game, Walker passed away.
He may be gone, but not forgotten. The program has been renovating the Towsley Museum in side Schembechler Hall since the culmination of the season, and among the new murals — which were revealed before the College Football Playoff — a new picture was added near the front door, of Meechie’s now-famous touchdown he scored during fall camp. It was visible to reporters who arrived for Jim Harbaugh’s spring ball press conference on Thursday.
Added in Schembechler Hall. pic.twitter.com/nxF2aiMFWo
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) February 23, 2023
While it is a sad story in many respects, it’s also an inspirational one, of how a team rallied around a fallen star, a former recruit who had everything taken away from him in a near instant. Like we said above, while Meechie may be gone, he will never be forgotten.
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