Blacksburg's Shelton to walk on at VT
- Thread starter mike salem
- Start date
Congrats Brad, Lets Go #74. Well deserved for a hard working fine young man. Thank you from the Bruin-Indian Nation. Onward Brad
Walk on is almost never a good idea but Santana Moss was a walk on. Clay Matthews was a walk on. Russ Grimm was a walk on. It HAS happened. GL to him.
Never a good idea for those that like to live in fantasy land. People just hate to be shown they're not in Kansas anymore. Sorry the world is not flat.
Best of luck to Brad.....again.
Without you expanding further on your thinking it is difficult to agree/disagree with the statement "almost never a good idea". Having said that, the school can be a major factor on whether walkon is a good idea and the specific situation can also impact the decision. Walking on has historically proven a viable option(Blacksburg and Nebraska are probably the two highest profile options) with multiple success stories while resuts are not as promising at other places(FSU, USC, etc.). The situation also can impact the decision in cases where a player has familiarity with a scheme or coach from their high school or camp days. By definition a walk on is going against the odds, however, the probability might be a little bit better than "almost never" depending upon the player goals and the situation they choose.
Rational argument. It really does depend almost entirely on the philosophies of the Head Coach. For example, VT under Beamer embraced their walk-on program. Under his regime, I believe only one kicker every got a scholly and players got a true opportunity. They got reps. I don't know to what extent that continues with the new Coach. You mentioned Nebraska also, which is famously acknowledged for their walk-on program. I also know that ODU loves their walk-ons. And as I've already mentioned, there are success stories.
But it is a numbers game. It is about wins. It is about bringing in the talent. Coachs rarely waste time on walk-ons when they are already eight deep on the depth chart with scholarship players. Players that THEY have chosen to give free rides to. Their job comes unde scrutiny if a walk-on plays ahead of a scholly. At the University of Texas, the worst thing a Coach can say to you is "You're playing like a damn walk-on".
Now, I completely understand that there are hidden gems. I would love to be a Coach and give these kids that have worked so hard another chance. You cannot undervalue an athlete with measurables but I would never undervalue heart and dedication either. That's me. Unfortunately, most College Coach's cannot afford that luxury. That's why walk-on is almost never a good idea. In general, you do not get reps. You do not get a decent chance. You do not get looked at. You are practice squad fodder where no one cares if you get hurt. Essentially, a crash dummy.
Blacksburg had 3 walkons play in a national championship game , 2 started and 1 was a co-starter they say hello too from the practice fodder pit
Your last paragraph is exactly why a walk on has to choose the right place. There are schools out there that do not generally treat walkons that way. It is a numbers game and, just like the pros, if a coach/team has money invested in you, be it as a scholarship or draft pick, they generally get the first look and the benefit of the doubt. For the most part, the entire Longhorn program, for a while now, from the University President and AD on down has not performed nearly as well as the walkons at some schools so they might want to rethink that line.
Isn't he from Onley, MD? Isn't he listed as 5'7" and 165. He has made some catches for VT but nobody was going to give him a scholly at that size. Something he still doesn't have. Again, a numbers game. But I am very happy VT still embraces their walk-on program and wish more would do so.
Mind if I ask who they were and when they played? Who they played for and what they played may also be helpful. Thanks.
CJ Carroll is now on scholarship. I suspect Bburg fan refers to the 1999 VT squad that had Shane Beamer and a couple of other Indians with starter referencing special teams work as opposed to an offense/defense starter.
That is great news about Carroll. Thanks for helping me be more current. He picked up a scholly right after Signing Day. Like I have said, it CAN happen.
After research, I was particularly impressed with the Social Media response from his team mates. They absolutely love this choice. Sometimes a locker room presence and leadership is more important. There may not be TDs. There may not be a lot of yards. But when you elevate the level of play of your team by your example, you damn well better do everything you can to keep that guy.
Congrats again to Carroll and great news for VT that they continue to be smart by giving their walk-ons a real shot. That does not change my opinion on walk-on chances but is a wonderful success story example. I wish there were more.
Thanks also about the Blacksburg kids info. I don't know yet if that is the reference but recruiting and how it works is not even close to the 90's anymore so I would not be able to provide that any relevance whatsoever.
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And again, these kids were walk-ons when?
I appreciate walk-ons. I really do. And as has already been pointed out, VT still embraces them. They get a real shot. And if you want to give hello's again, Santana moss, Clay Mathews and even ED Reed say hi.
But you continue to fail recognizing that most walk-ons are eliminated almost immediately in the numbers game. Being successful here does happen. You simply cannot accept how poor the chances are. Dude, Rudy made a great movie and had all the heart in the world. He dressed once and got one snap in his career. I love the kids with heart but when you're a Coach, it's about wins.
Here's your bottom line and one you will refuse to accept so I won't respond to this anymore. You can win from now on. If you're a walk-on, even a preferred walk-on, you have been evaluated to not have DI goods. The people that evaluate that get paid a lot of money because they are right so often. Of course there are exceptions. The other bottom line is that those exceptions are very rare. There's a reason for that.
And please don't bring up kids from the 90s. They mean absolutely nothing in today's recruiting anymore. It's like pleading a case for return of rotary phones.
I appreciate walk-ons. I really do. And as has already been pointed out, VT still embraces them. They get a real shot. And if you want to give hello's again, Santana moss, Clay Mathews and even ED Reed say hi.
But you continue to fail recognizing that most walk-ons are eliminated almost immediately in the numbers game. Being successful here does happen. You simply cannot accept how poor the chances are. Dude, Rudy made a great movie and had all the heart in the world. He dressed once and got one snap in his career. I love the kids with heart but when you're a Coach, it's about wins.
Here's your bottom line and one you will refuse to accept so I won't respond to this anymore. You can win from now on. If you're a walk-on, even a preferred walk-on, you have been evaluated to not have DI goods. The people that evaluate that get paid a lot of money because they are right so often. Of course there are exceptions. The other bottom line is that those exceptions are very rare. There's a reason for that.
And please don't bring up kids from the 90s. They mean absolutely nothing in today's recruiting anymore. It's like pleading a case for return of rotary phones.
Other than the four mentioned specifically from the '99 team, all the rest are since 2010 and there are others. As has already been established VT and Nebraska are two of the more friendly places for walk-ons. You need to choose better words for the sentence, "If you're a walk-on, or even a preferred walk-on, you have been evaluated to not have D1 goods" as that statement is largely inaccurate for both classes and wholly inaccurate for preferred walk-ons. Kids do not have something the evaluators are looking for to put them in the 25 limit or as a potential greyshirt but, it does not mean they do not have D1 goods. They do possess some goods that are useful at D1 level. A kid that "does not have D1 goods" is not even useful as practice fodder in reality. Would also be interested to hear why you believe kids from 90's differ in terms of today's recruiting landscape and how it is "a case for return of rotary phones." In your zeal to make your point that walk-ons are a longshot proposition(they are although degree is different at different schools) you appear to be reaching for absolutes and comparisons that are not really supportive of your position.
