You know the story of Rudy, the undersized walk-on football player who made the Notre Dame practice squad. After two years of daily beatings in Irish practices, Rudy got to run out of that tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium, his gold helmet shining in the sun.
Well, it seems likely that there won’t be any Rudy-like players in the future. Thanks (no thanks) to the settlement in the landmark House v NCAA case, we may be seeing the end of the storied walk-ons. That settlement sets college football’s roster size at 105 players.
USF currently lists 128 players on its roster, and several of them are walk-ons. It’s common practice for major college programs to far exceed the new proposed limit.
The Bulls’ most prominent one-time walk-on, receiver Sean Atkins, was asked about this development at the football media day. He set USF records last year with 1,054 receiving yards and 92 catches.
“I think that's just like a weird kind of rule,” he said. “I feel like it kind of counts a lot of people out. I feel like a lot of people are like myself coming out of high school (without an offer), and that kind of just gives you the ability to showcase what you have.
“Yeah, it kind of bothers me, honestly.”
It should.
For many years, major college programs were limited to 85 full scholarships but could have as many walk-ons as they wanted. That’s how Atkins, an honor student, wound up in green and gold after a career at Viera High School on Florida’s west coast.
Atkins had small college offers but wanted a bigger stage, and then-USF coach Jeff Scott gave it to him in 2019. Two years later, Scott announced in a team meeting that he was giving Atkins a scholarship.
The news elated his teammates and underscored the argument that some players just need a chance.
The roster limit could also dampen the transfer portal, as programs may be reluctant to take chances on the unknown. It could also force coaches into the uncomfortable position of having to release players to stay at the roster limit.
Head coach Alex Golesh said walk-ons “are becoming obsolete. My opinion on it is there’s gonna be a bunch of guys that that don't have a home.
“I think they'll put a lot of pressure on personnel departments, recruiting departments, certainly coaches to evaluate right, I think especially where we are geographically, we have the ability to get a lot of walk-ons, and really, really good ones.”
USF long-snapper Bryce Bernard was originally a walk-on, as was kicker John Cannon.
They aren’t the only ones.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield went from a walk-on at Texas Tech to become a Heisman Trophy winner at Oklahoma and a No. 1 NFL draft pick.
Stetson Bennett was a walk-on at Georgia and eventually was the quarterback in the Dawgs’ national championship win over Alabama.
J.J. Watt, Hunter Renfroe, and Clay Matthews were walk-ons.
So, what do we have to look forward to in the future? Maybe a Rudy remake where our hero decides it’s not worth it to pursue his Notre Dame dream and goes to work in the local factory.
We could call it “The Rude Awakening.”