Walker is off to the NFL . . .

Flanked by his parents, Notre Dame junior running back Darius Walker made it official Thursday: He is making himself eligible for the NFL draft. Walker declined to get into specifics of the deciding factors in his decision, saying, “Just really feel like, you know, it’s the right thing for me to do at this time. It’s the right thing for me to go on and to go to the NFL now rather than wait.” In three years, Walker compiled 3,249 yards rushing, 1,069 behind Notre Dame’s all-time leading rusher Autry Denson. Coach Charlie Weis, who was not at the news conference, issued a statement saying Walker “guaranteed me that he would graduate from Notre Dame in the near future. Although disappointed, we wish him nothing but the best.”