Watched that spring practice report and all I could think about was the walk ons. You see these 43-man transfer classes at Colorado and 50 new faces at Oklahoma State and I just shake my head. Back in the 1994 season we had a kid named David who showed up to tryouts in a pair of cleats held together with duct tape. No NIL, no portal, no guarantee of anything. He just wanted to wear the red and black. He ended up on special teams for three years and I bet he still has his letter jacket somewhere.
That is what I miss. The walk on culture was the backbone of this program. Coach Dooley used to say you can teach a kid with heart more than you can teach a kid with talent who does not care. We had walk ons earning starting spots in the 1980s because they would run through a brick wall for the G. Now you got kids entering the portal the second they are not starting by week thrree. The spring transfer window just got eliminated and thank goodness for that because it was turning spring practice into a circus of who is leaving next.
I remember when the walk on was the most respected guy in the locker room. He was the one staying late after practice, running scout team drills like it was the national championship. He was the one who knew the fight songs by heart because he grew up wanting to be a Bulldog, not because some collective cut him a check. The new NIL revenue sharing model caps at 20.5 million per school and that is great for the stars but what about the kid who just wants to strap it on and hit somebody?
We landed Kaiden Prothro and that is fantastic, a five star tight end who will probably start day one. But I guarantee you there is some walk on long snapper or gunner right now working his tail off in voluntary workouts who will never see his name on a recruiting ranking. That kid matters too. That kid is what made Georgia football special for forty years. The portal and NIL killed that culture and I do not know if we can ever get it back.