When the college recruiting season comes around, big stars go to big schools and live the superstar life on a full-ride scholarship. For others, the fight is just beginning. Not every athlete is fortunate enough to go to college with all expenses paid, for some, they show up on campus and try to impress coaches by showing that they can excel on the college level. These students are called walk-ons.
On the first day of school, potential walk-ons gather at the football field with a tape of their best game highlights in hand and wait, as the coaches review the tapes and administer various drills which show what kind of skills these kids can offer.
Before a kid can try out, he must show in his highlight film that he can make plays.
When the day’s drills are done, and the best of the best have shown what they can do, they become part of the scout team. The scout team is the unit that the starters use to gauge what the upcoming opponent may do.
Prairie View assistant coach Michael Bryant estimates that anywhere from 15-30 kids show up on the first day of walk-on tryouts and fight for maybe three or four spots on the team.
In order to actually make the team, you must show then and there that you can contribute to the team, because the odds are severely stacked against you from making the squad.
In Bryant’s history, he mentioned a few kids that played their heart out as a walk-on and went on to have a successful collegiate career.
One such kid was from his last stop at Bowie State. “Kendall Stewart was a walk-on who came onto the team and contributed greatly. He played safety and scored touchdowns and won a few games for us.”
Coach Bryant’s advice to potential walk-ons is to work hard. Even though an athlete wasn’t recruited for a scholarship, if they have the passion to compete, they can still follow their dream by trying out as a walk-on and going from there.