Michigan football to honor 'Meechie' Walker with helmet decal

Michigan is commemorating Dametrius “Meechie” Walker, the Muskegon High football player who died last week from bone cancer, with a special decal on the Wolverines’ helmets.

Walker, 18, who had lost his left leg because of the disease diagnosed two years ago, became part of the Michigan team this fall after he was invited to preseason camp. He attended two games this season and received game balls and had a victory dedicated to him.

When Michigan plays TCU in the national semifinals on Dec. 31, their helmets will carry the decal honoring Walker on the middle stripe on the back of the helmet. The round decal features his jersey No. 45 and his nickname, “Meechie.” Michigan unveiled the tribute in a social media post on Friday, a week after Walker’s death.

"(He had) a big impact on us," safety Rod Moore said Thursday of Meechie. "Especially when he came to practice and then the practice at the stadium. The DBs, we made sure we were really close with him. We made a group chat and everything. His loss has been really hard on us and we're making sure we go out there and play for him and try to win it all for him."

Linebacker Michael Barrett shared how Walker was always smiling despite the pain he endured.

“It motivated all of us, I feel like, to keep going even when we felt like it was hard,” Barrett said. “Any time we were in a tough spot, it motivated us to keep going."

Walker’s presence was embraced by the team.

"When he came here in fall camp he just inspired the whole team," left guard Trevor Keegan said Thursday. "When he came out of the tunnel, we all saw him with a smile on his face. It really changed a lot of people's perspective on life. You can't take anything for granted. Just talking to him, he meant a lot to us. There's no doubt about that. His family are in our prayers and We're going to continue to ride with them and continue to be by their sides. He meant a lot to us."

A visitation is scheduled Tuesday at Muskegon's Redmond-Potter Gymnasium from 2:30-6:30 p.m. and two services will be Wednesday at Angel Community Christian Church.