"Eliminating walk-ons from big-time college football is so stupid": Pat McAfee calls out latest compensation model in CFB
The ongoing discussion about the future of walk-ons in college football has sparked debate, with Pat McAfee also sharing his thoughts. In light of the House v. NCAA settlement awaiting judicial approval, the latest athlete compensation model has raised concerns about potential roster limits that could jeopardize the role of walk-ons, who make up for a fairly large portion of team numbers.
The NCAA has agreed to remove scholarship limits, introducing lower roster sizes. In football, this could shrink team size from up to 130 players to as few as 85, which is the amount of scholarships permitted.
Regarding this, College GameDay personality Pat McAfee delivered a passionate defense on “The Pat McAfee Show," criticizing the idea of eliminating walk-ons, arguing that decision-makers unfamiliar with the intricacies of football are driving these changes.
“The fact that there’s a thought that we need to eliminate walk-ons from big-time college football is so stupid,” McAfee said on Friday.
Pat McAfee stressed the importance of involving knowledgeable individuals in shaping the future of college football to ensure that the sport remains robust and true to its roots.
“And it also makes me believe that a lot of the people making these decisions don’t know ball," Pat McAfee said. "If we’ve got people who don’t know ball making decisions in this transition era of college football, we need to figure that out.
“We need to cut that out and we need to preserve this sport and make this sport as great as it possibly can be while transitioning with people that understand what the hell’s going on in locker rooms, in sport, in football as a whole.”
Pat McAfee aligns himself with prominent coaches for their stance
Nebraska's coach Matt Rhule, whose team is known for its walk-on program, has already highlighted the critical importance of walk-ons on "SiriuxXM":
"For every player that ends up with a high-end commercial, there's 100 players that are becoming better people by having played college football and being part of a team and those are the people that usually end up running our country, running our corporations, running our businesses.
"I mean, we spend all this time talking about what great things college football does and now if we take it away from a bunch of people. I would really, really, really be sad."
Rhule further talked about accessibility for young athletes:
"I'm going to tell you that some of these guys are gonna change the world someday and to think that we're going to take that away from them, there's so many unintended consequences. Sometimes the people that are making these decisions — don't forget about access, we need access for young people that really need it."
To add, prominent SEC coaches Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss and Kirby Smart of Georgia echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the need to preserve walk-ons in the sport. During discussions with officials, they even offered up their own salaries to cover the costs, although they were told that cost wasn't the primary concern.
"The coaches agreed we would pay out of our own salary, give us less money to our salary, take whatever it costs to have walk-ons." [H/T The Athletic]
Pat McAfee, aligning himself with Kiffin and Smart, praised the coaches for their stance and expressed hope that their advocacy would influence the ongoing transition in college football.