Walk-on's perspective

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

I pulled this from the Big Red Reports free board so there shouldn't be any problems...I hope Anyway, I thought it was interesting. It was posted on another board so I went out and found it. If this is true, it definitely gives some insight into the teams mentality.

 

I was in Lincoln today to take my daughter to visit UNL.

 

I had arranged for the both of us to meet with a walk-on that we both knew to have lunch with. We had, to say the least, a very interesting discussion about the program.

 

I will not give out his name....so don't bother even asking.

 

His conversation for me though confirmed some of the things that some of us have actually been reading.

 

I asked him in his opinion what was going on....was there a problem with the players or coaches or what? This is what he told me....in so many words.

 

He said that he absolutley busts his arse off everyday because all he has ever dreamed about is to play someday for NU. Since he was a little kid....as far back as he can remember it was something he dreamed about. What he sees is that the majority....and he used the word "majority" of starters and backups simply don't CARE about NU football. He said that it's difficult for him to explain it....but it's clear to him and many of the other walk-ons and it's a common topic of conversation between the many native Nebraska walk-ons.

 

He said that during practice the starters can get corrected and he said you can just see it on their face......they don't care. There is an attitude of...."what are you going to do....replace me with a walk-on....ya right"... He said that even though Callahan has played many walk-on's it has not really been in a situation where a starter or a Scholarship player has lost his position to a walk-on and so there is no FEAR on the team of this happening. He said that he has heard of old players talking about the walk-ons pushing the scholarship players....because the scholarship players never wanted to lose their job to a walk-on. He said that clearly does not and has not happened to any significant extent since he's been here.

 

There isn't any sort of respect by the scholarship players for the walk-ons....it's more of a disdain. In his opinion this comes from the coaches attitude towards the walk-ons. The coaches view the walk-ons as a necessary evil.....something they have to put up with. They are clearly not viewed as an opportunity.....or a significant component of the team....but instead as a tool to be used by the scholarship players to get them to the NFL. He said this attitude has permeated the entire team now and the coaches have actually fostered it.

 

In his opinion the walk-on program isn't about the number of kids....it's about the attitude and importance of the walk-on program in relation to the entire program. The walk-on program is in a state of being completely disconnected from the program for all intense and purposes. It is viewed as a necessary evil....period.

 

I thought this was very enlighting given the attention and discussion we have had lately on the walk-on program so I thought I would share it.

 

I've known this young man my whole life. All I can tell you is he's a typical Nebraska boy. Honest as the day is long. I know his parents and they are hard working middle class people....just like most of us. They don't get anymore "Nebraska" then these folks. Take this for what it's worth.

 

I've said many times.....there are many things wrong with this program....and in my mind this just confirmed it for me.

 

Again, this is not my post. Just passin on the info. Mods/Admins, if need be, you can pull this.

 

If you're regsitered or interested, here's the link

Big Red Report

[I See Red People]

Hopefully TO will restore pride to the walk-on program, it has been part of our program for a long time, or at least it was. I think it is dumb for these coaches and kids to think about the NFL before they done playing college football. Aren't they here for NU first and foremost? IMO Let their dedication to their school and their play on the field be their ticket to the next level. If someone is supposed to be a good player (scholarship), but a walk-on shows him up, then thats how it goes. The better players should be on the field. You would think we were accomplishing this by putting "our best product out there". Our best product seems to be guys that should be our best product, not necessarily the guys who are.

[HuskerTrucker]

Nebraska has had a lot of quality walk ons....these so called scholarship players haven't kept up their end by performing worth a hill of beans, especially on defense. They have no room to put down anyone that is willing to have to pay to be there. Talk about free loaders...there are some on the team that fit that description, too. Not everyone, but a few....

[Dundermifflinite]

I really hope some of the local media outlets do investigative stories once this statewide nightmare is over...

 

burn baby burn...

[Husker_x]

I cannot even tell you how frustrated and angry this makes me. The more of this I see and hear the more glad I am Tom is back in a position to correct this horrid atrocity. And the more convinced I am that we need a Husker guy or several of them in positions all along this twisted staff.

 

No wonder we suck ass. Everything is wrong. Everything.

 

X

[REDSTEEL]

I'm surprised they have any walkons left on the team if this is turned out to be true.

[HuskerTrucker]

I think there is just a really bad thing going down with the whole culture surrounding this team. I am surprised anyone would want to play at all, what is the incentive? BC is so distant, or seems so, from the players.

 

I hope that once the changes are made, things get better fast, or we may have a longer term problem than we think. TO was a good start, but he isn't the one that will have to take it and make it work, that will be the coaches.

 

Where are all the captains? I never hear of them showing any kind of leadership at all. This team has none...from coaches or players. That sucks...especially if your a freshman coming in. Talk about being lost in the forest.

[CornHunka]

Found this on a different site.

 

Reduction of walk-ons at Nebraska benefits small schools in state

November 7, 2007

 

 

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -While the Nebraska Cornhuskers are at their lowest point in a half century, their little brothers at the state's NCAA Division II schools have never been better.

 

Chadron State is No. 2 in the national rankings. Nebraska-Omaha is No. 3. Both are unbeaten and, along with Wayne State College, are in position to win conference championships. Nebraska-Kearney also is having a winning season.

 

So is it a coincidence small schools in this state of 1.7 million are thriving while the Huskers are diving?

 

Nebraska's D-II coaches think not.

 

They say Huskers coach Bill Callahan's decision to blow up the walk-on program that enjoyed national prominence from the 1970s to 1990s under Tom Osborne has left a bevy of high-quality homegrown players available for the small schools.

 

``One of the more frustrating things for me was to offer a young man a Division II-caliber scholarship to play football at UNK and have them turn that down and have them walk on at Nebraska,'' said UNK coach Darrell Morris. ``When I heard coach Callahan was going to maybe de-emphasize the walk-on program, it didn't hurt my feelings.''

 

Nebraska's squad numbered near 200 players during the walk-on program's heyday, enough for Osborne to run four full practice stations. Sure, most of the walk-ons were practice meat, but a few blossomed into stars.

 

Derrie Nelson of Fairmont was an All-America defensive end in 1980. Offensive lineman Adam Treu of Lincoln was among those who followed and had a long stint with the Oakland Raiders. Fullback Joel Makovicka of Brainard played for the Arizona Cardinals.

 

Osborne capitalized on the passion for Big Red in this state, where kids grow up dreaming of playing for the Huskers. The walk-on program linked the team to the state's many small towns.

 

``Almost everyone had somebody who was playing here,'' Osborne said.

 

The walk-ons epitomized hard work and the desire to play for the state and the ``N'' on the helmet. The attitude rubbed off on scholarship players from out of state, Osborne said.

 

Frank Solich, who succeeded Osborne, didn't take all comers like Osborne did. Solich was more selective but still took 25 to 30. Callahan took 12 this year.

 

Osborne, now interim athletic director, said he would recommend a revival of the walk-on program to whoever is coaching the team next season.

 

None of the Division II coaches would estimate how many of their current players would have opted to walk on at Nebraska in the past.

 

``All I know is that we get a couple kids a year that we never would have had a shot at,'' Chadron State's Bill O'Boyle said.

 

Interestingly, Chadron's best player - Danny Woodhead - turned down an offer from Solich to walk on at Nebraska. Woodhead this year became the all-time leading rusher in all of college football.

 

Wayne State coach Dan McLaughlin helped administer Nebraska's walk-on program as an assistant under Callahan for seven months in 2004. He said Callahan's desire to have a more ``manageable'' squad size was reasonable.

 

``Instead of having an open door, it became more of an invitation,'' he said. ``We're inviting you to the party instead of anyone showing up who wanted.''

 

Nebraska-Omaha probably has felt the least impact from the Huskers' walk-on cutback, coach Pat Behrns said. UNO, which offers a full complement of 36 scholarships and has some of the best facilities in Division II, targets the top 15 in-state prospects each year.

 

If Nebraska signs the top five, Behrns stands a good chance of getting many of the other 10 because he can offer each close to a full scholarship.

 

Behrns said nearby Football Bowl Subdivision programs (formerly I-A) such as Wyoming, Colorado State and Iowa State are becoming more active recruiting the state, as are nearby Football Championship Subdivision (I-AA) programs such as Northern Iowa, South Dakota State and Northern Colorado.

 

As far as Chadron's O'Boyle is concerned, he'll gladly take the players Nebraska doesn't want.

 

``We would try to offer a measly amount of money, and you would call the next week and the kid would have Osborne visiting him asking him to walk on. It was a done deal,'' O'Boyle said. ``Those times have changed.''

 

---

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

I really think Callahan keeping the walk-on program and the Blackshirt tradition was nothing more than to appease the fans and higher ups (pederson excluded). I believe if given the chance, he would do away with both of those in a hurry.

[huskernumerouno]

it sucks to hear this type of crap. There are kids that would give their left nut to have a chance to run out on that field in uniform. Man that pisses me off.

[junior4949]

I hate to burst his bubble, but this has typically been the case in Lincoln. A good friend of mine was a walk on and played in the mid through late 80's. He said being a walk on was always very political. Scholarship players 9 times out of 10 always got the nod even if they weren't playing or practicing as well. I will say this was going on long before Clownahan and crew ever stepped foot in Nebraska.

 

However, back then the number of walk ons outnumbered the scholly players. By cutting the walk on program way down, there isn't near the numbers compared to scholly players. With fewer numbers, the voice and strength of the walk ons has been cut drastically. You know what they say: there's strength in numbers.

 

I think a lot of people are somewhat miffed because Clownahan hasn't done a very good job of closing down NU's border. CU has a really good RB from Nebraska. There are talented kids from within the state now that are going to other places to play football rather than walking on. God forbid this doesn't flare up this thread again, but 5 to 10 years ago a player like Danny Woodhead would have been brought into Lincoln as a walk on with some sort of condition that he worked into a scholly player.

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

This was exactly the type of atmosphere that TO addressed in his first day back. He said that the other players pick up on the desire of the walk ons that want to be there. Also by sheer numbers under TO there were bound to be some gems that came out of the walk on ranks that emerged to be great players and could make up for the scholarship flops. Once that pool dwindled those gems became fewer as well.

 

It also pointed to the fact that TO was better at team management than Solich and Callahan is progressivley worse. Callahan likes to stress the number of reps the players get but increasing the number of stations like TO had would also increase those reps.

 

Callahan sure Gumped this one" Stupid is as stupid does!"

[NPhusker]

5 to 10 years ago a player like Danny Woodhead would have been brought into Lincoln as a walk on with some sort of condition that he worked into a scholly player.

 

I know you were all worried about people getting up set about this little subject and beleive me i am not upset about it. I can perfectly understand that giving DW a scholarship would have been a huge risk. But please somebody tell me how Callahan justified giving Robert Rands(5-7 160) a scholarship and couldnt take the risk of giving Woodhead one.

[REDSTEEL]

I hate to burst his bubble, but this has typically been the case in Lincoln. A good friend of mine was a walk on and played in the mid through late 80's. He said being a walk on was always very political. Scholarship players 9 times out of 10 always got the nod even if they weren't playing or practicing as well. I will say this was going on long before Clownahan and crew ever stepped foot in Nebraska.

 

However, back then the number of walk ons outnumbered the scholly players. By cutting the walk on program way down, there isn't near the numbers compared to scholly players. With fewer numbers, the voice and strength of the walk ons has been cut drastically. You know what they say: there's strength in numbers.

 

I think a lot of people are somewhat miffed because Clownahan hasn't done a very good job of closing down NU's border. CU has a really good RB from Nebraska. There are talented kids from within the state now that are going to other places to play football rather than walking on. God forbid this doesn't flare up this thread again, but 5 to 10 years ago a player like Danny Woodhead would have been brought into Lincoln as a walk on with some sort of condition that he worked into a scholly player.

 

McBride mentioned something like that when interviewed earlier this year.

[admo]

Question: If a player is a walk-on, and by his junior year earns a scholly, does it take away the number of scholly's provided to the immediate or next recruiting class?