Back to the Basics: A ‘Primer’ to College Football Program Building
A favorite leadership development tale of the late Zig Ziglar was the Parable of the Pump — describing in great detail how organizational change (or, for those preferring ‘Covey-speak,’ a paradigm shift) requires a person to roll up the sleeves and provide immediate input by ‘pouring water’ into the pump as a primer. The ‘water,’ of course, is one’s initial outline to creating a new organizational climate. From this point, the way to success is commensurate to the metaphorical ‘sweat and sinews’ of the pump handler. The gallons and gallons of cool water is a metaphor for the organizational prosperity flowing to those involved.
The whole ‘primer’ scenario popped into my head while reading a recent article on new Nebraska head coach Scott Frost. A section of the article, appearing in AFCA magazine, mentions how the Cornhusker program has veered off course with regard to in-state recruiting, and specifically with those of ‘walk-on’ status.
There are two types of walk-on student-athletes. ‘Recruited’ refers to those having been in direct contact by coaches and later given full attention and assistance from the college admissions personnel {knowing ahead of time they are part of the team.} ‘Non-recruited’ refers to those gaining entrance through normal admissions channels and must attend an open tryout. There are no guarantees to make the team.
The NCAA limits FBS schools to 85 scholarships. With a flick of the remote to a channel hosting a nationally televised game, viewers see shot-after-shot of a sideline with over 100 uniformed student-athletes (and several others not making the ‘uniform cut.’) How do colleges find those players? ‘Ding! Ding! Ding! Tell’em what they’ve won, Johnny!’ Yes! Walk-on players are sought after by university recruiters, albeit not quite with the intensity of the athletic gems being offered full scholarships.
The NCAA Division 1-A landscape changed drastically in 1973 as the implementation of the Equal Opportunity in Education Act (which included Title IX) resulted in the elimination of unlimited football scholarships, freeing college dollars to better fund women’s athletic programs. Coincidentally, Tom Osborne’s first season as the Nebraska head coach was the same year. Osborne saw the unlimited scholarships he was accustomed to as an assistant coach fade away to 105 full rides during his first season as the leader of the Cornhusker program. Prior to the 1978 schedule Osborne saw the number cut to 95, and another drop in 1982 to the current 85 scholarship allotment.
From the onset of his head coaching career with Nebraska Osborne and his assistants were faced with the shrinking roster dilemma. They could have accepted the fact the number of players would be reduced. Instead, they developed a system which involved recruitment via an alternate route which didn’t include scholarships. Nebraska’s walk-on success would become the envy of major college football programs across the country, and it only makes sense a university in the country’s ‘corn belt’ would create a football recruiting culture emulating the ways of a successful American farmer.
Nebraska coaches found success reaching out to in-state high school players who may not have quite the D-1 pedigree status, but talented nonetheless, and convincing them to become a walk-on with the Cornhuskers. Just as the farmer spends time tilling the land, planting seeds and eventually producing a quality harvest, Nebraska mirrored the farmer’s plan. Over time, after nurturing the ‘almost major college’ athlete, Nebraska featured the nation’s elite walk-on program with the ability to mentally and physically prepare additional talent through its system. It worked so well it was copied by former Nebraska assistant Barry Alvarez when he was hired as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. Unlike Nebraska after Osborne’s retirement, over a decade after Alvarez hung up his coaching whistle, Wisconsin’s in-state recruiting and walk-on program continues to be among the nation’s finest.
As the years passed, college coaches created a better term for the recruited walk-on player. Prefaced with the word, preferred, the potential recruit has been garnished with a higher accolade than the oh-so-ordinary ‘tryout’ hopeful. ‘Preferred Walk-on’ definitely carries a bit more social standing among high school athletes and their parents. Early enrollment, common among scholarship athletes for years, is now readily available for the preferred walk-on allowing the athlete to take part in off-season conditioning.
Hiring a head coach possessing the formula for a football program’s success has been around since the days of Jock Sutherland and Pop Warner, and the recent trend involves an influx of youthfulness to the position — the millennial coach. At Kent State it is 32-year-old Sean Lewis. Lewis is two years younger than Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley. With those recent hires Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck may even start to feel ‘old’ at 37. Fleck’s injecting a young spirit into the coaching ranks exemplifies another unique method of athletic recruiting. Collegiate players are thrilled about playing for a coach, such as Fleck, young enough to run stride-for-stride when they are getting timed in the 40-yard dash.
When Hayden Fry was head coach at the University of Iowa he never worried about ‘stealing’ another coach’s offensive play, saying once it was in his playbook it was ‘his’ play. The younger coaches today should study a little football history and strongly consider using Fry’s way of thinking during the recruiting process. In-state recruiting, including an intense ‘priming of the pump’ with preferred walk-on players, can part of a solid foundation to successful program building.
