Just saw that Matthew Stafford quote about playing in Australia and it got me thinking about something completely different. That man was a walk on at one point. No I mean he was a big recruit obviously but the idea of earning your spot, of proving yourself in the summer two a days when the heat was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Remember when we had walk ons who would stick around for four or five years just to get one snap on special teams? That was the soul of this program.
I think about the 1980 team and how many of those boys were not five star darlings. They were kids from Valdosta and Thomasville and Moultrie who showed up unannounced with a duffel bag and a dream. Coach Dooley would watch them on the scout team and if you showed something, if you had that dog in you, he would find a way to get you on the field. That is how you build a program, not by swiping right on the transfer portal every time a starter graduates.
Nowadays every kid with a decent high school highlight reel thinks he deserves a scholarship and a NIL deal before he even steps foot in the weight room. The walk on culture is dying and that breaks my heart more than anything else in this new era. We had kids who would run through a brick wall for a chance to wear the G on their helmet. They practiced against the starters every single day and made us better. David Pollack was a walk on. Ben Watson walked on. These are Georgia legends who started at the bottom and clawed their way up.
Kirby Smart talks about the family atmosphere and I believe him, I really do. But the truth is you cannot have that same feeling when half the roster is one year rentals from the portal. The walk on was the glue that held the program together. He was the kid who would never transfer because this was his dream, not his business transaction. I miss those days more than I can put into words.