Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player who was a halfback and kicker. He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, winning the Maxwell Award in 1947 and the Heisman Trophy in 1948. He then played professionally for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1950 to 1955. Walker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. The Doak Walker Award, awarded annually since 1990 to the top running back in college football, is named after him.

Walker was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1927. His father, Ewell Doak Walker Sr., was a Tennessee native and a school teacher who later became assistant superintendent and personnel director of the Dallas school system. His mother Emma was a Texas native, and he had a younger sister, Elsa.

Walker attended Highland Park High School in University Park, where he was a five-sport athlete in football, basketball, baseball, swimming, and track and field. In 1944, Doak Walker led his high school football team to the state championship game. He and future college and NFL star Bobby Layne were teammates at Highland Park; Layne played college football for the Texas Longhorns in Austin.

Following his graduation from high school in 1945, Walker joined the Merchant Marine. The war ended in August 1945, and Walker was discharged from the Merchant Marine on November 1, 1945.

Two days after being discharged from the Merchant Marine, Walker appeared in his first college football game for Southern Methodist University. Walker played in five games for the SMU Mustangs in November 1945 and was sufficiently impressive as a halfback and placekicker as to win All-Southwest Conference honors and a spot in the annual East–West Shrine Game in San Francisco. In the Shrine game, he threw a tying touchdown pass for the West team.

Walker did not play college football in 1946, as he was inducted into the U.S. Army in March 1946. His stint was brief, playing football for the Brooke Medical Center service team in San Antonio before being discharged in January 1947.

Following his discharge, Walker re-enrolled at SMU and rejoined the Mustangs football team. As a sophomore, he led Southern Methodist to a 1947 SWC championship and was named to a myriad of All-American teams. He gained similar All-American honors in 1948, and 1949. Walker won the Maxwell Award as a sophomore in 1947 and the Heisman Trophy in 1948 as a junior.

During his award-winning 1948 season, Walker gained 532 yards on the ground, carrying the ball 108 times for a 4.9 yards per carry average. He also threw six touchdown passes from the halfback position, going 26-for-46 and gaining 304 yards in the air. As a receiver, Walker hauled in 15 passes for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, he intercepted three passes. He also punted for a 42.1 yard average for the Mustangs, returned punts and kickoffs, and did duty as the SMU placekicker. Walker finished the year with 11 touchdowns scored, which combined with his kicking put 88 points on the scoreboard for the year.