Page 27 Walk ons

WALKS-ONS With the limited number of scholarships that the NCAA permits each school, and the need for a large and talented roster to compete for a Conference USA Championship, the UCF coaching staff knows it can take no member of his team for granted.

With that in mind, the Knights rely heavily on those who choose to walk-on to the UCF football program in order to add reinforcement to the founda�on.

Although walking on to the team does not guarantee that one will become a scholarship player, the poten�al is there. Meanwhile, many walk-ons have enjoyed a great level of success in Orlando.

A great example from the current UCF team is Ronnie Weaver who enters the 2009 season as a scholarship player and UCF’s number two tailback a�er joining the team just two years ago as a walk-on from Vero Beach. Weaver played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman last fall and carried the ball 102 �mes for 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Another tremendous recent example was Robinson Jean, who joined the Knights in 2006 a�er serving in the U.S. Army in Baghdad. Jean went on to play on special teams for the Knights during the 2007 Conference USA Championship season. He was named one of four finalists for the 2007 Rudy Award which is given to NCAA Division I student-athletes who demonstrate character, courage, contribu�on and commitment as members of their football teams. The award is named for Daniel “Rudy” Rue�ger, a former Notre Dame player who had his story told in the film Rudy.

Linebacker Steven Baker walked onto the UCF squad and played on two bowl teams (2005 Sheraton Hawaii and 2007 AutoZone Liberty) while also picking up a Conference USA Championship ring. He appeared in 12 games for the Knights during that 2007 C-USA �tle run and all 13 contests in 2005.

Walk-ons clearly have been valuable members of the UCF program and will con�nue to be in the future.