K/P Jason Dann

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Jason Dann National Combine Series

 

By RAINER SABIN / The Dallas Morning News

rsabin@dallasnews.com

 

This is the school Jason Dann always wanted to attend, the program for which he had always wanted to play.

 

The Lake Highlands kicker loves Nebraska. Loves it all – the tradition, the rabid fan base, the gigantic stadium. His father, an Omaha native, has raised him on Cornhusker football. They made regular pilgrimages to see Big Red.

 

So Dann jumped at Nebraska's offer this past summer. It didn't matter that the Cornhuskers didn't extend him a scholarship. Not yet, at least. This was an opportunity to play for his favorite team. And as a preferred walk-on, the designation he will soon carry, Dann will have a chance to one day earn free tuition, room and board. The Nebraska coaching staff – assistant John Papuchis in particular – has said as much.

 

"He told me I am their guy," said Dann, a 6-0, 160-pound senior. "He wants me to do whatever I can do for them. And I was going to go to Nebraska whatever way I could."

 

Nothing, Dann said, could change his mind.

 

"As a kid, you tend to follow your heart more than the money," said Dann's dad, Mark.

 

Across the country, there are high school seniors such as Dann who would consider rejecting a scholarship offer at a smaller school for a chance to earn one as a walk-on at one of college football's traditional powers.

The allure of competing on the biggest stages, under the brightest lights, in the most consequential games, can persuade a player to leave financial aid on the table. All it takes is a leap of faith and a dose of youthful optimism for a teenager to succumb to the idea of earning one's keep as a non-scholarship player.

 

"Some kids get stars in their eyes," said Richardson Berkner coach Jim Ledford. "Then, once they get there, reality sets in. There is never a guarantee."

 

Ivy League called

 

Chase Kennemer knows. The Arlington Lamar standout had scholarship offers from Iowa State and SMU. One school, he concluded, was in a region that was too cold, the other too close to home.

 

So he turned to Harvard, the Ivy League institution that aggressively pursued him throughout the recruiting process but doesn't offer athletic grants. At one point during his senior year in 2004, Kennemer began preparing for life in Boston.

 

But as national signing day approached, then-Texas A&M defensive coordinator Carl Torbush extended him an opportunity to join the team as a walk-on. For Kennemer, the offer was intriguing. Several family members were Aggie alumni, and he wanted to play at a program in a major conference.

 

So he decided to head to College Station, where he felt he was headed down the path toward a scholarship. After all, he had been invited to participate in two-a-days and wasn't pigeonholed as a scout-team castaway. But then Torbush was fired and "all of a sudden I wasn't getting any reps," Kennemer said. "And I didn't want to be a four-year walk-on."

 

Flash forward to today and Kennemer is an all-conference linebacker on scholarship at SMU, the school he had once passed on and then transferred to three years ago. This season, he has 126 tackles and two interceptions for a team that made its first bowl appearance in 25 years. As Kennemer finished revealing his cautionary tale, he sighed.

 

"Looking back on it, I could have saved a lot of heartache by going to SMU in the first place," he said. "If someone is walking on, they have to be sure they like the school. It's a hard road to get a scholarship. They are not going to just give it to you."

 

SEC, Big 12 gave look

 

That's why Zach Olen didn't want to press his luck. The Richardson Berkner kicker had received considerable interest from Texas, LSU and Purdue. But none of them offered him a scholarship. North Texas did, however. And so he decided to play at a school 40 miles from his hometown.

 

"I wanted to go big-time," Olen said. "But I came to the reality that the chances going SEC or Big 12 are pretty low. Still, a field goal is a field goal anywhere you go. And I was going to go wherever they offered me."

 

Long before North Texas came calling, Olen was aware that scholarships are rarely tendered to players at his position. For instance, Richardson Pearce's Michael Hunnicutt, who is rated the 16th-best kicker in the nation by Rivals.com, has yet to receive an offer. That's why Ledford advised Olen to give North Texas an oral commitment.

 

"You have to have common sense," Ledford said. "This is a full ride. But if Zach did take a preferred walk-on offer, I have no doubt he would earn a scholarship."

 

Dann is confident he can earn a free education, as well. He has been told that Nebraska's two scholarship kickers will graduate after next season. And he is prepared to wait awhile and prove himself. The sacrifice, he asserted, is worth it.

 

"Nebraska was the place I was always going to end up anyway," he said. "But if a big school like Texas offered me, it would have to come under consideration."

 

Dann paused for a moment to consider his previous statement.

 

"Then again, it would be tough to play against Nebraska," he continued. "My dad probably wouldn't even let me."

 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...on.41e9179.html

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Thread didn't auto-bump.

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Alex Henery

Jason Dann

 

^^ Nebraska likes K/P with 2 first names.

[GBRsal]

Alex Henery

Jason Dann

 

^^ Nebraska likes K/P with 2 first names.

 

 

 

Byron Bennett

[Captain K]

Eddie Neal

Or did I make that one up?