It's apparent that all the talk about restoring the walk-on program at Nebraska was more than mere lip service.
Along with the announcement of his first official recruiting class Wednesday, first-year Cornhuskers' coach Bo Pelini released the names of 18 players who will walk-on at Nebraska. He said he expects release the names of a dozen more walk-ons for next season, once their paperwork is complete.
"We're committed to getting the walk-on program back on its feet and it is a huge part of our future," Pelini said. "This year's class has tremendous talent and I think it's just going to make our recruiting class that much better."
Pelini was quick to note that the vast majority of Nebraska's walk-ons are in-state players.
"Those are people who come from towns, come from areas who have a deep love for the state of Nebraska, for the university and for our football program," Pelini said. "The more people you bring into a culture that have strong beliefs about something and have a strong commitment and want-to, it's going to make you stronger in the future."
The walk-on program is certainly nothing new at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers thrived with the help of non-scholarship players under coach Tom Osborne, who stepped down following the 1997 season with 255 career victories and three national titles.
Nebraska's walk-on program had been reduced in the past four seasons under former coach Bill Callahan. After returning to NU as athletics director, Osborne stressed the importance of the walk-on program and made it clear that he wanted to see it restored.
Pelini said he's had several discussions with Osborne about what walk-ons have meant to Nebraska teams in the past and how players who were paying their own way have had a tendency to inspire the scholarship athletes with their work ethic especially scholarship players from out of state.
"When you surround them with that type of kid, who grew up living or dying over whether Nebraska won or lost, and you look around and some of those talented guys and some of those guys from across the nation, they became that much more committed to the program because they were surrounded by people who had an extreme level of commitment," Pelini said. "That's what it's all about. When you walk out on the field, you have to have a belief in what you're doing and commitment and a deep love for who you're playing for."
In an effort to meet Osborne's request, Pelini and his coaching staff reached out to high school football coaches in the state of Nebraska in hopes of finding worthy walk-ons. Nebraska receivers coach/recruiting coordinator Ted Gilmore said the reaction has been overwhelming, if not a bit surprising.
"I'll be the first to say that I didn't think the response and the excitement from around the state to the walk-on program would be nearly this big," Gilmore said. "I've learned from that, but then again, it shouldn't surprise you because you see every day how people in this state are so passionate about the University of Nebraska."
Huskers' tight ends coach Ron Brown, who was previously an assistant at Nebraska from 1987-2003 under Osborne and former coach Frank Solich, has seen walk-on players emerge to be major contributors numerous times.
"What is a walk-on? He's a player," Brown said. "He's a player just like these guys who have happened to have signed scholarships offers, but for me, the distinctions are off. You're a football player here."
Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who joins Gilmore as a holdover from Callahan's staff, said he's learned a great deal about the value of walk-ons from conversations with Osborne.
Watson said he now sees a large walk-on program as an extra opportunity to find players who can help the program.
"We don't have a Nebraska State sitting here," Watson said. "So if a young man from this state wants to come and play at the highest level he can, that gives you an honest-to-God second recruiting class. That's what I see."
Watson said he's been impressed by the level of dedication most walk-ons show.
"As you meet this kids, many of them are turning down money at a Division II school or some other institution because they want to come and play at Nebraska," Watson said. "That's a big investment and that creates part of that chemistry and attitude that makes it special."
Brown said that Jeff Jamrog, Nebraska's assistant AD for football, played a major role in building this year's walk-on class. Brown said Jamrog pushed the coaches to watch film on potential walk-ons just as they would with prospective scholarship recruits.
Pelini said another benefit to increasing the number of in-state walk-ons is that it boosts the public's ties with the program.
"The more guys we can bring in from this state, the more ownership the people of the state of Nebraska are going to feel for this program," Pelini said. "It's extremely important to all of us involved."
Pelini said he doesn't plan to get caught up in numbers or limits when it comes to adding future walk-on players. Every year will probably be different, he said.
"It depends on what's out there," Pelini said. "If there's somebody that wants to walk-on on our football program and has the potential to be a tremendous football player, we're not going to turn anybody away."
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