By Dave Morrison
Bill Stewart was a walk-on at Fairmont State who earned a scholarship through hard work and determination.
At Cincinnati, Bob Huggins had a walk-on, Steve Sanders, who one season led the Metro Conference in 3-point shooting.
Is it any wonder the West Virginia University football and basketball coaches have an admiration, if not a soft spot, for walk-ons in their respective programs?
The two West Virginia coaches were at the Mountaineer Athletic Club golf outing Thursday at The Resort at Glade Springs.
This year, each of the high-profile coaches will have a local athlete in that very spot.
Stewart has invited Mount Hope standout Da’Von Marion to walk on to the Mountaineer football program.
And Huggins has offered a walk-on spot on the WVU basketball team to Mountain State Academy’s Brian Lowther.
“I was a walk-on who had a chance to earn a scholarship (at Fairmont),” Stewart said. “I always have a soft spot in my heart for (a walk-on player), although they don’t believe it in practice, the way I work them. If I was going to favor someone, it would be these guys who come out and do it on their own.”
“(Former Magnolia star and WVU walk on) Ted Talkington was terrific for us,” Huggins said. “And Josh Sowards, though he didn’t play as much as he, or, honestly, I, would have liked, did a great job. He made shots and worked hard in practice. Cam Payne has been good for us. He comes in and works hard every day.”
Both acknowledged it is a tough chore for a walk on. There are obvious barriers to overcome. They have to beat out scholarship players for positions and they have to ultra impress just to get noticed.
“It’s a tough row to hoe, as the old farmers say,” Stewart said. “And it’s not for everybody. But when they come in our program, from the day they come into the Puskar Center, the day they go out on the field, they’re going to be treated just as the rest of the team is treated.”
And it often means being a practice player, or a scout team punching bag.
“(Playing time) is something that goes through all their heads,” Huggins said. “When I was at Akron and we went to the NCAA tournament (1986), I started two walk-ons. I started walk-ons at Cincinnati. We had a guy who was a walk-on who led the Metro Conference in three-point shooting (Sanders).”
So it can happen.
And it is rewarding for the coaches when they see enough of a walk-on that he eventually earns a scholarship, a la Owen Schmitt, who is now playing in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks.
“One of the greatest rewards in this job is being able to reward a kid who works so hard,” Stewart said. “As tough as it is to tell a youngster that this program isn’t for him when he can’t uphold the traditions and follow the rules we have in place, it is equally rewarding to be able to reward a young man for working hard and doing things the right way.”
Which is why, even if just a little bit, Stewart will be pulling for Marion when he arrives on campus.
“I hope he comes up here and has a tremendous career,” Stewart said.
