Walk-ons
Rich Rod mentioned in his singning day press conference that they will be announcing the walk-ons in upcoming weeks. Well, here are a couple of defensive lineman that will be walking on to the team from MHSAA Div. 4 champ Holland Christian.
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/sports/x84114883/Three-Maroons-walking-o…
What will be the number of players that will walk-on. I know the scholarship limit is 85, but is there any roster limit?
February 5th, 2009 at 2:43 PM ^
Hopefully RR is able to unearth some hidden talent.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:48 PM ^
I think the roster limits only related to scholarships and travel rosters. Teams can have as many players as they want on the roster so long as adhering to the scholarship limits.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:01 PM ^
Yep. Rodriguez has stated many times he wants to grow the team with walk-on's, around 95-100+ players.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:54 PM ^
Correct. Prior to Bill Callahan's arrival, Nebraska always carried an enormous number of walk-ons - usually over 50 at a time. In-state tuition there is apparently cheap and NU was able to convince a lot of decent local players to pay their way instead of taking mid-level scholarship offers. This played a significant role in their success. Callahan, for some insane reason, drastically cut the number of walk-ons.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:50 PM ^
Thanks for the link.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:05 PM ^
I recall Rich Rod saying that he wanted to develop one of the better walk on programs in the country. I wish nothing but the best for these young kids.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:09 PM ^
MOAR lottery tickets. Also, RR has a history of finding talent in overlooked kids, scrounging, etc. Maybe he will find 1 or 2 good prospects, never know.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:07 PM ^
One of the good things about these guys is that they have already received top notch coaching and should have a good idea about what they will need to do to compete at the D1 level before they even get to AA.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:12 PM ^
Is it possible that because Brink & Nyhof are going to walk-on that the staff didn't try to find replacements for Graves & Jones?
February 5th, 2009 at 3:46 PM ^
Doubtful, why would you plan to replace 3-4 star D-1 talent with walk-ons.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:15 PM ^
Ideally, I think 30 kids per class (excluding 5th year seniors) is ideal. That means approximately 22-25 schollys and 5-7 walk-ons.
Walk-ons are important for the development of the team. It gives an opportunity to the highly rated recruits to spend time with the 1st/2nd teams and watch/listen to the coordinators and position coaches. Nearly everyone plays on the demo squad for some period of time. The more talent you have, the less time you spend on demo.
Generally speaking, walk-ons spend the majority of their career on demo. If a scholly player is on demo for more than two years, that player is probably not going to crack the starting lineup.
As a lifer on the demo squad, I can tell you it's a tough existence at first, but as you grow and age, you become a valued member of the team.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:38 PM ^
And better walk-ons equals better special teams.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:28 PM ^
Nebraska had a huge walk on program under Osborne. I think that they dressed more walk-ons for practice than scholarship athletes. The idea was that he could find FB, OL and special team types that could contribute.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:40 PM ^
and what else was a high school football player in Nebraska gonna do after he graduated. Nebraska was at it's peak under Osbourne. Every kid in Nebraska wanted to play for him. Having 150-200 kids on the team increased the odds of finding that diamond in the rough. I just don't know how they organized practices with all those people on the field.
February 5th, 2009 at 3:50 PM ^
RR was a walk-on at WVU who earned a scholarship. He believes deeply in giving these guys the same shot he had.
And while I am glad to have to Holland Christian guys as walk-on, no I do not think that replaces the loss of 2 four star DT's in Graves and Jones.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:13 PM ^
one of these kids actually does pan out and Graves and Jones FAIL? that would be a great story.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:16 PM ^
big vagina
February 5th, 2009 at 4:39 PM ^
Thats stupid. What if 2 walk ons end up being better than 2 fairly highly rated recruits? Yeah, and what if Nick Sheridan turns into Pat White next year, because that is about as likely.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:22 PM ^
Aside from 85 scholarships and conferences can limit the number of players who are allowed to travel.
But, the NCAA does limit fall training camp to 105 players. After the preseason is over, then the team can have as many walk-ons as they want.
I don't really understand the point of this rule. I get the scholarship limit, but if you're allowed to have 50 walk-ons during September why are you only allowed to have 30 during August?
February 5th, 2009 at 4:34 PM ^
Nyhof 6-3 277lbs
Brink 6-5 218lbs
were both 2-way OL/DL