With the Southern Illinois University football season underway, six players have seen the reward that comes with one of the toughest accomplishments in college sports — making an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) roster without a scholarship, otherwise known as a "walk on."
"All these walk-ons — you start from the bottom and work your way up," John Lock, SIU Associate Sports Information Director for football, said. "It’s not an overnight thing. You don’t get to come out and play right away. You have to earn trust. You have to get in the system and learn things."
There are currently four players listed as walk-ons on the SIU roster. The most accomplished is junior fullback Hans Carmien. After redshirting in 2013, the year he walked on, Carmien played in all 12 games for the Salukis in 2014, starting two of them. His performance was good enough to earn him a scholarship, the ultimate accomplishment for any walk-on.
Reshirting allows a player to practice with the team, learn the playbook and get to know teammates before being required to play.
"We have a lot of good players out here who have been walk-ons, who have since earned scholarship money," Lock said. "It’s a big thing for us. A lot of really good players have come through our walk-on process."
Junior safety Charlie Harris redshirted in 2013, did not see the field in 2014, and recorded one tackle in 2015. WR Connor Iwema also walked onto the team in 2013 and redshirted, but played in 11 games in 2014 and four in 2015, starting three of those before suffering a season-ending injury. And perhaps most interestingly, WR Kyle Newquist walked onto the team as a quarterback in 2012 and redshirted, but in 2013 moved to wide receiver and has played in 26 of 33 games for the Salukis.
When players are recruited by a program, the school must prove it is the best fit for them. Walk-ons must instead prove that they will be a good fit for teams looking to fill a few last holes in the roster.
"They have to have good grades," Lock said. "They have to prove that we won’t have to babysit them. It’s a privilege to be on this team. They need a work ethic. You can’t be lazy and take things for granted. The biggest thing is being able to carry yourself well off the field first. Can we trust you to be on this team? Also, you have to show some ability to come out and be on the field with these guys."
One of the biggest challenges walk-ons can face is the timing of tryouts. Scholarship players often attend workouts well before the season begins, while walk-on tryouts are just a few weeks before the season begins.
"(They're) usually a little bit behind, since the other guys have been here all spring and summer," Lock said. "It’s really about the attitude and commitment over the long-haul. Usually, it’s year two or three when you start to see yourself on the field. You have your work cut out for you, but it’s definitely been done. We encourage people to try out."
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