SERVING
FROM
WALK-ON CAPTAIN TO
A STORY OF PERSEVERANCE AND LEADERSHIP By Austin Bradley, CSU Athletic Communications / Photos by Jim Killian
Nick Salley, Garris Schwarting, Ethan Ray, and Justin McIntire arrived at Charleston Southern University with the odds stacked against them. Instead of taking advantage of a scholarship offer from another school or hanging up their cleats, these student-athletes took a chance on themselves and their athletic abilities. The walk-on journey is not a desirable one because there is never a guarantee that a student-athlete will earn a scholarship – they have to go to practice and prove they belong every day with hopes the coaching staff will notice and elevate their role on the team. For these four players, their abilities were apparent early on when Head Coach Autry Denson and the current CSU coaching staff took over the helm of the Buccaneers’ football program in January 2019.
24 CSU magazine
Fall 2020, vol.30 no.3
