“It’s been a long and different road for me, obviously coming in as a walk-on,” Walters said during the Mid-American Conference’s Media Day last week at Ford Field in Detroit. “I’m just working my butt off every day and trusting the process and developing myself as a player.”
Walters, a Lakota West High School graduate, was surprised with a full scholarship before the 2023 season and later finished that year with the most special teams tackles in the country.
Gradually amping up Walters’s playing time since then, Miami coach Chuck Martin labels him a defensive leader.
“We took Silas late as a walk-on,” Martin said. “Then you fast-forward and he’s representing us at Media Day. Went from special teams player of the year to starting on defense to being one of the better players in our league.”
Walters wrapped up a career-high 95 tackles with two fumble recoveries and 12 pass breakups during the 2025 season — when he played in and started all 14 games.
The RedHawks are coming off a 9-5 season that included their second-straight trip to Detroit for the MAC Championship and a win over Colorado State in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl. Miami has won 20 games over the past two years — which is 15th best in the nation over that span.
“Super excited to step into a leadership role this season and help lead this team get back to Ford Field in December,” Walters said.
“Obviously, the stats are great or whatever, but at the end of the day, I just want to help lead this defense and help this team win,” Walters added. “Whether that’s if I get four tackles a game or 10 tackles a game, it doesn’t matter. As long as we win, that’s all that matters. As long as we get back to the championship game and capitalize, that’s all that matters.
“That’s kind of my mindset going into it. Obviously, I’d love to have a great year. But I’m just going to do my part to lead this team and lead this defense.”
Miami was selected to finish second in the MAC, trailing only Toledo. Three coaches picked the RedHawks to capture the conference championship.
“I like our mindset. I like our culture — the way we gel together as a defense going into this season,” Walters said. “That’s all you can ask for, and hopefully we can execute really well as a group and be really good.
“But I’m really confident in the guys that we’ve got coming back,” Walters said. “… A bunch of guys stepping in at new roles that they’re ready to take — they’ve been waiting for, and they’ve been hungry for.
“I’m super confident in this group and absolutely excited for this year.”
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