​PITTSFORD — A familiar name popped up on Kani Walker’s caller ID.It was three days before the NFL Draft and Walker wasn’t getting the attention from teams he anticipated. But one coach kept calling him. And it was the one on his caller ID.Buffalo Bills cornerbacks coach Jay Valai.Walker spent three seasons at the University of Oklahoma — where Valai was the defensive coordinator — before transferring to Arkansas for his final college season.Valai tried to pump Walker for information, like which teams had shown interest. The only problem was Walker didn’t have anything juicy to tell him. Only three teams showed real interest and only Valai (on behalf of the Bills) had called him numerous times.One way or another, Walker had a feeling he would end up with the Bills. And he did, as an undrafted free agent. He called it bittersweet because it didn’t take away the feeling of not being one of the 257 players picked in the draft.“I’m never going to lose who I felt on draft day because it was an emotional moment for me,” Walker told GNN Sports after practice Thursday. “Of course everybody dreams of getting drafted and going to the NFL and chasing their dream. But I felt like there was a lot of teams that didn’t believe in me. It put a real fuel under me.”Walker has made an immediate impact with the Bills and has an opportunity he may not have gotten elsewhere. Under new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, the BIlls are retooling their cornerback room, not just with players, but the type of players.Buffalo went into the draft with only Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston on the roster. They didn’t sign any veterans for depth or insurance. Instead they traded up to draft Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun in the second round and took Toriano Pride Jr. in the seventh round.So Walker entered a situation where the fourth boundary cornerback job was up for grabs. Walker seized it in the spring and it has rolled into training camp, with the rookie consistently playing with the second-team defense. Part of it is that Walker is familiar with Valai’s drills and terminology, which gives him an edge over anyone competing for the fourth cornerback job.All the while, the words Valai told Walker after agreeing to a UDFA deal echo through his brain:“Got to put your foot down,” Valai told GNN Sports before practice Thursday. “Nobody’s getting that from you. Ain’t no enabling in this world, brother. You’ve got to pick somebody’s pocket and take their job. This is grown-man ball.”Walker’s relationship with Valai could have disintegrated after he left Oklahoma. Professional and college sports can be a petty business. And both sides had some reasons to be upset.There was a certain vision Walker had for his final college season and it didn’t include him being on the bench. That was especially true considering Walker made nine starts in 2024 after just three combined in his first three seasons, which included redshirting a yea