Senior Nick Walsh enters the 2017 football season as one of Kansas State’s most successful starting punters, but during the recent offseason, he made the decision to pursue an unexpected career after graduation: singing and songwriting.
Starting with jam sessions on his guitar, Walsh realized the music he was making had potential, especially when he started adding original lyrics to the songs he had composed.
Walsh said he understands that his dream of becoming a successful musician is not an easy road, but he has overcome adversity before on the football field. When Walsh first arrived at K-State, he was a walk-on player and believed he would never play a career game. His skills said otherwise, and he was starting by the second game of his freshman season.
“I knew if I wanted it bad enough, I would get it,” Walsh said to K-State Sports.
This has been a common theme for Walsh, who has been working on getting his music career going by making contacts in the music industry.
Lakehouse Records and Publishing in Orlando, Florida, has been a source of mentorship for Walsh. He has been able to share the creative process with various singers and songwriters.
Another person Walsh was able to learn from was Erik Dylan. Dylan is originally from Kansas, but he now works with various country artists in Nashville, Tennessee, such as Kip Moore, Justin Moore and the Eli Young Band.
“I just love seeing a small town kid from Kansas chasing his dreams and getting to play D1 football,” Dylan said to K-State Sports. “I think he’s taken that mentality and the same strategy into the songwriting realm and learning to play the guitar. You can tell he’s one of those guys that, when he sets his mind to do something, he’s one of the people that will make that happen.”
In the future, Walsh wants to blossom his music career in Nashville, where the Wildcats recently suffered a loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores, 14-7.
“I’m just going to focus on this football season,” Walsh said to K-State Sports.
Currently, Walsh has punted eight times within the first three games this season.
With passion for football and music, Walsh is making the best of all the opportunities he has.
