4 days Ago By Tom Shatel World-Herald Columnist
First downs and second guesses: This Saturday will be a Nebraska Senior Day like no other. It’s Walk-On Senior Day. The legend is fading away.
The topic came up on Monday, when Husker coach Matt Rhule was asked about the role of the older, developmental player in the future with roster limits coming soon. Rhule, a former walk-on at Penn State, got melancholy. Rhule reminded that the NCAA roster limits of 105 — which is tied to the beginning of revenue-sharing with players — begins next year.
Schools can hand out up to 105 scholarships, but that’s the ceiling on the roster. That doesn’t mean schools can’t hand out 85 scholarships and save room for 20 walk-ons. Or any which way the math works for them.
But the reality in this ultra-competitive sport is, most schools will hand out 105 scholarships or scholarship-in-kind revenue sharing/NIL deals. So the Great American Walk-On is probably going away. Will you miss him? No doubt an older generation of Nebraskans will.
Some of all-time great Huskers were walk-ons. I.M.
Hipp. Cory Schlesinger. Jeff and Joel Mackovicka.
And many others. Their stamp will last forever. The Nebraska walk-on was typically a native son who grew up wanting to wear the uniform and perform a role that helped his favorite team win.
Often that was in practice, making the starters better. I love the walk-on stories. It became a legendary part of the Nebraska program.
It embodied the selfless Husker football player. For many small-town kids, it was the Nebraska Dream. But let’s be honest: that dream began to change around 2004.
That was when recruiting services and rankings took their place at the front of the program’s priorities. Development and walk-ons took a back seat. As the number of walk-ons slipped, so did their place in the consciousness of the program.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Rhule kept a few spots, maybe five, for walk-ons. He feels that strongly about the tradition and what they add to a program. But I don’t suspect the majority of Husker fans are too worried about it.
They want to win. They want bowl games. They want regular wins over ranked teams.
And Colorado and Indiana have shown us that there’s an instant way to do that — called the transfer portal. I would guess that most Husker fans would say Rhule needs to hit the portal harder, not more walk-ons. That’s the world we live in.
Rhule was a walk-on. But future college football coaches are in the transfer portal now. They’ll be raised to believe another way.
The thing that might have a greater impact on the game is cutting down all rosters — and the programs who use multiple stations at practice because of their large roster size. The game never stops moving forward. But it’s a sad thing, like saying goodbye to a Nebraska tradition.
Pay close attention to senior John Bullock on Saturday. The linebacker from Creighton Prep began as a walk-on and earned a scholarship. In the future, a guy like Bullock won’t be at Nebraska.
He might be at South Dakota State. Where he can develop and always come back to Nebraska — through the portal. I know, I know.
I’m a history guy. But this is another reason I’d love to see a Nebraska football museum. So the story of the walk-on can be told forever.
I can’t believe opponents are really that upset at Nebraska’s pregame prayer at midfield. If they are, they are looking for a reason to get fired up. But why wake up the other guy? Heck, move the prayer to the end zone.
That’s where the Huskers need the prayers. The missed holding call on the final play on Saturday was brutal. But NU had too many other mistakes that were decisive.
Put the game away before the final drive. Heinrich Haarberg needs a role in this offense. He’s not going to run for 13 yards every time.
But the defense doesn’t know that. Haarberg and Carter Nelson. I hope there’s a place for them in Dana Holgorsen’s imagination.
The Jet Award has created a Jordan Larson award for the outstanding female athlete in the state. Love it. Larson is a terrific role model that a generation of girls in the state idolized.
Congrats to Gary Green, soccer guy. The Union Omaha owner — a big baseball (New York Mets) fan — has delivered a championship club to the local soccer community and is working hard for a state-of-the-art soccer stadium downtown. I’d like to see the Creighton vs.
Nebraska women’s basketball game on Friday (4 p.m.) moved to the CHI Health Center for a women’s and men’s doubleheader.
Both NU and CU women’s teams are high caliber and deserve the larger stage. Women’s basketball, in general, has been feeling right at home on the larger stages. Get local news delivered to your inbox!.
