University of Tennessee Athletics
Standing Out: Walk-ons Work Hard to Impress
September 25, 2009 | Football
Sept. 25, 2009
BY DREW EDWARDS
UTSports.com
Sometimes, it's red. Or blue. Or crimson. This week, Tyler Wolf is wearing green.
While the colors change, the goal remains the same. Eventually, the hope is to wear the same color jersey regardless of what week it is.
A former All-State running back and cornerback from Cookeville, Wolf is in his fourth year as a Tennessee walk-on. Instead of taking a football scholarship from Tennessee Tech or Austin Peay, Wolf decided to pay his own way at UT with no guarantee of playing time.
"I always grew up a Tennessee fan," says Wolf, "and that interested me more than going to a smaller school and playing on scholarship."
If there's a common thread that connects Tennessee's walk-ons, that's it. Most were plenty good enough to play elsewhere.
They just believed they could play here, too.
Part of the team
For a non-scholarship player, every day is an opportunity to make an impression. It's also a grind.
But that's the job description, says linebacker Nick Reveiz, who has gone from walk-on to special teams contributor to starting middle linebacker since arriving on campus in 2006.
"People that don't want to work hard or don't want to earn something and go all out for it, they're probably not going to want to walk-on somewhere," says Reveiz, an All-State linebacker from Farragut who had a combined 281 tackles in his last two high school seasons. "I highly suggest someone not do that if they don't want to work or they're dreading the road ahead."
The road is long.
Walk-ons are at every workout and every practice. When the team runs at 6 a.m., so do walk-ons. That part of the walk-on experience surprised Wolf. Even without a scholarship you're still treated like anyone else on the team.
"You're treated by the players, it doesn't matter if you're walk-on, scholarship, manager," Wolf said. "There's not a line there."
But there is a gap.
It's not unusual for a scholarship player to spend his first season on the scout team. But it's usually a one-year stay. For a walk-on, it's a constant battle to be noticed. That means taking every opportunity to make an impression - and every chance to get better, whether it's in the film room, the weight room or on the field.
"My first fall camp, I did some good things and I was hitting some people," Reveiz says. "That's what I try to thrive off, hitting. At the same time when you're a freshman, you don't know. There's so many times when people get praised and nothing really comes of it."
For some, though, it does.
Seizing Opportunity
For Wolf, the journey to reach the field took four years. It might have happened sooner, if it wasn't for a knee injury last spring.
Cornerbacks Brent Vinson and Marsalous Johnson were on the sidelines with injuries, and the newcomers hadn't reached campus yet. That left a crack in the door for Wolf, who saw a lot more action that spring than usual and even worked some with the second-team defense.
Not only was he playing a lot in practice, he was playing well and starting to get some positive feedback from coaches and teammates.
"At that point, I felt adequate, like I could compete," he said. "And that's when I blew my knee out."
Wolf shredded his lateral meniscus and spent 10 weeks on crutches. Rehab lasted until the end of September. If it hadn't been for the taste of playing time he got during spring practice, Wolf says he might have had a difficult time coming back.
"There's always doubts when things aren't going right," Wolf said. "The knee injury, that was devastating. It was a good thing I got my playing opportunity before I blew my knee out. Otherwise, it would have been a really hard decision to make. I guess my parents raised me to stick it out. You never quit. That's the mentality I've got."
It paid off this spring.
His knee healthy, Wolf got a chance to show what he could do on special teams. With UT's new coaching staff preaching competition at all positions, Wolf worked his way into the special teams rotation. He didn't disappoint then, and he solidified his spot during live special teams work in fall camp.
If there's a formula for making the field, it's making sure you're prepared when the opportunity arises.
"Come out and train as hard as I could and when my opportunity came, seize it. Not everyone gets an opportunity," he says. "But if it comes, you have to be as prepared as you can mentally and physically.
"For me, it was more mentally, especially this spring just knowing the scheme and knowing as much of the playbook as I could so when I got thrown out there I wasn't completely lost."
But one of the perks of being a non-scholarship player, at least for former walk-on Cory Sullins, is the ability to blend in.
Standing Out and Blending In
So far this season, Sullins has played in every game. And his twin brother, Cody, has started all three at center.
Despite their rise to major roles on the offensive line, the identical twins still enjoy a level of anonymity off the field.
"We don't look that much like football players, because we're not 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5," Cory Sullins said. "If we're not wearing something with `Tennessee' on it, a lot of people don't question it."
And that's just fine with the Sullins brothers.
"I think it is nice," Cory Sullins said. "I would hate to be like Crompton or Eric Berry just trying to walk in the mall to buy some clothes. They couldn't do that around here.
"It's nice. I would rather it be this way than the other way. I would rather go out on the field and play and just have people root for you when you're out there. I don't want to have football follow me. I'd rather it be this way. I think it's nice."
But anonymity isn't always nice. Half the battle for a walk-on is finding a way to stand out on the practice field. And not just make a few plays, but convince coaches that they can outperform a scholarship player.
That attention is hard won, especially at the beginning.
"You're a walk-on. No one knows about you. You come in and people are like, `Who's this guy?'" says Reveiz. "It's not a flattering feeling. Even little stuff. Sometimes, the equipment you get isn't as top-of-the-line as some of the guys. It's stuff you take as an insult. As a player, I was like, `I'm just as good as this guy.' I think that's something that helps you build a chip on your shoulder to keep playing hard."
Most walk-ons already have something to prove. And most of the time, it's proving they belong at a big-time Division I program.
"Players grow up wanting to play for Tennessee," UT coach Lane Kiffin said this summer. "Unfortunately, there will be some we can't take. But they will come here, prove us wrong and earn a scholarship."
Hitting the Field
The green jersey - meant to mimic the colors of Ohio University, which comes to Neyland Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff Saturday - is a little deceptive in Wolf's case.
He spends most of the week as a scout team defensive back, but on Saturday he'll be on the field wearing orange as a member of Tennessee's kickoff coverage and kickoff return teams.
For UT's season opener against Western Kentucky, Wolf was one of the first 11 players on the field as well as walk-on linebacker Shane Reveiz.
"It was crazy," Wolf says. "That's the only thing I could think of. It's so loud and intense. Words can't really describe it."
Wolf could make his debut on the punt team soon, too. Just this week, coaches moved him up to second-string on the punt team. Reaching the field is one thing, but staying there is another.
"It's gratifying to actually see the field," Wolf says, "and get the playing time after putting in the hard work for so many years."
Follow the Vols on Twitter @UTAthletics, and read Drew Edwards' blog, The Inside Source.
