Darius Walker, that is!

Much like the apparatus that helps the injured and the infirm with their mobility, ND must also come to lean on their Walker.

Why?

Because he helps them get around. He moves them forward. He is a key to striking that offensive balance coach Charlie Weis is so keen on achieving.

Without their Walker in full effect, the Domers' attack is noticeably handicapped. When Darius can't find room to run, the onus on the aerial game becomes enormous.

And though gritty QB Brady Quinn has proven he can pull out games under such trying circumstances, that's certainly not his druthers.

Quinn, of all people, knows the value of having a productive Walker at his disposal. With Walker turned loose, the defense gets softened up and that's when Quinn can put his talented right arm to maximum use.

In many ways, Walker has demonstrated he can be Quinn's best friend.

He certainly has been recently. After having been stifled by Penn State and Michigan and then contained by MSU, Walker rediscovered his stride against both Purdue and Stanford.

Asked to do yeoman service with 56 carries over the last two Saturdays, Walker has responded with monster outings.

First, he dropped 146 yards on the Boilermakers. But that basically amounted to Darius merely clearing his throat.

Looking to sustain his new-found momentum, Walker took it up another octave. Versus the Cardinal, he hit an even higher note.

Highlighted by a 32-yard serpentine TD scamper, Walker was at his shifting, gliding best.

Set free by an ever improving offensive line that pried open a number of sizable holes in the Stanford front, Walker enjoyed a field day.

The 5-10 Georgia native made the Cardinal bleed by piercing the visitors for an impressive 153 yards on the ground.

And it was the way in which he did it that made that total seem all the more impressive.

When holes opened up, he neatly darted through them. At the point of attack, he was masterful at reading his blocks.

Given room to roam, Walker was elusive and slippery. And when required to show some muscle, Darius drove defenders backwards with a forceful surge that netted additional yardage.

On this one afternoon, he was just about everything a back could possibly be. He was smooth and sharp. He was decisive and powerful. He was quick and steady.

It's an understatement to say that he had it going.

And just to show that's he's far from being a one-trick pony and that his hands are almost as dangerous as his legs, Walker found time to latch onto six of Quinn's tosses. 

That ran his season total for catches to 38 which just so happens to lead the team. That rates as quite a feat considering that Quinn has other standout receivers to chose from including the likes of Jeff Samardzija, Rhema McKnight and John Carlson.

Walker's emergence as a dual threat has certainly made Quinn's life considerably easier. By using Walker on swing and screen patterns as well as a check-down receiver when other avenues are eliminated, Quinn knows that he has a nearby weapon that won't let him down.

Walker is Quinn's security blanket in the passing game. When in doubt, Brady can quickly turn to Walker to help bail him out of a potentially sticky situation. When all else fails, Quinn realizes that Walker is a handy option that can extricate him from imminent trouble.

So how much has Quinn come to rely on his junior halfback as a safety valve? Well, after setting a single-season mark in '05 for receptions by a back (43), Walker is on pace to obliterate that record this year.

There can be no question that when it comes to keeping the Irish aerial assault flying high, Walker is one of Quinn's chief wingmen.

Walker's duality makes him all the more valuable because should he find the sledding tough on the ground, which doesn't happen very often, he can still impact a game by grabbing the ball through the air.

Even if a defense is good enough to shut him down in one area, the likelihood of negating his other dimension is remote. Harness him in one way and he'll still hurt you in the other. Like a two-headed monster, he's difficult to completely slay.

Though gifted with moves, anticipation and vision, perhaps Walker's most important asset is his amazing stamina. The guy never seems to wear down which is all the more noteworthy given his rather diminutive size. His tank never appears to approach empty.

And that's one of the truest measures of a productive back. Walker genuinely thrives on a heavy workload. As the game goes on, he seems to get more effective and energized.

Late-game heroics are nothing new to him. Some of his more memorable scores have taken place as a contest has been winding down.

While it's always subjective trying to judge just how important any certain player may be to his team, this much can be stated with assurance.

Darius Walker is a barometer for how the Irish will fare. It's not a stretch to contend that generally as Walker goes, so go the Domers.

It's almost impossible to imagine Walker having a solid to spectacular day and ND not coming out on top. The two go hand-in-hand. It's hard to foresee one taking place and not the other. They're linked and intertwined.

So is it any wonder, that Quinn and the offensive line must do their utmost to see that Walker gets off ? Get him involved and rolling and your prospects for success become very bright. If he's not exactly a meal ticket, he's the closest thing to it.

The Irish are keenly aware that the more he totes, it could be all she wrote.