Pat McAfee makes passionate plea for NCAA to keep walk-ons

In light of the House v. NCAA settlement – which is awaiting a judge’s approval – the revenue-sharing era appears to be on the way to college athletics. As part of the settlement, roster limits could be in place, which is leading to questions about the future of walk-ons.

Multiple coaches have been outspoken about the importance of walk-ons. Nebraska’s Matt Rhule discussed the issue as conferences voted on the settlement, and more recently, two notable SEC coaches weighed in. Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin and Georgia’s Kirby Smart emphatically supported keeping walk-ons as part of college football programs after speaking with officials last month.

On the outside, Pat McAfee is helping lead the charge. The College GameDay personality was passionate in his plea for the NCAA to keep walk-ons in the game.

“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 “The Pat McAfee Show” Friday. “And it also makes me believe that a lot of the people making these decisions don’t know ball. 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.

“And I stand firmly on the side of Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart. And I appreciate the fact that two of the most famous coaches in sports now that Coach [Nick] Saban’s out … are the ones taking such an issue with this. It’s a good thing and hopefully, we’ll be able to change this around.”

The future of walk-ons came about as roster limits potentially replace scholarship limits under the House settlement. As it stands, football can have 125 players on the roster, including 85 on scholarship. But if other sports get more spots, walk-ons could wind up in the crosshairs – and coaches, specifically in the SEC, have spoken out against that.

During the SEC spring meetings, Smart “stood on a table” in support of walk-ons, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He wasn’t the only one, though. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz compared the flexibility of having walk-ons to the NFL having a waiver wire and practice squads. According to The Athletic’s Seth Emerson, Kiffin – like Smart – also offered to take a pay cut if it meant walk-ons stayed on rosters.

To McAfee, those players are the hearts and souls of college football. That’s why he fiercely called out those in charge for considering such a decision.

“I didn’t know this was potentially a thing until earlier this week,” McAfee said. “What a bunch of bullshit. Why would you even think about – walk-ons are football lovers. Obviously, ball lovers. Football lovers. You’re talking about D-III offensive linemen, they’re cleaning their own pads, they’re cleaning their own uniforms, they show up and practice every single day. They love ball. They want to continue to play ball.

“Walk-ons love football, walk-ons also are a massive piece of the chemistry and culture in the locker room. Walk-ons whenever they make it – get scholarship – are enjoyable moments for the entire team. Life lessons for the entire team. Walk-ons can inevitably be a reason why your team wins and why your team loses. And the people that seemingly are making the decision have no idea about that being the case.”

Pat McAfee: Eliminating walk-ons is ‘just stupid’

As he weighed Kiffin and Smart’s response to the potential elimination of walk-ons, McAfee pointed out their backgrounds in football. Smart played for Georgia in the 1990s and went up against Peyton Manning while he was at Tennessee. Kiffin played quarterback at Fresno State and worked his way up the coaching ladder, including a stint as Saban’s offensive coordinator after three head coaching stops before eventually arriving at Ole Miss.

With Saban now retired – and joining McAfee on GameDay, if the punter-turned-TV personality signs his contract – two of his former assistants are stepping up. McAfee argued that’s important as college football enters its new era.

“It’s stupid. This is just stupid,” McAfee said. “And I appreciate the fact that Lane Kiffin and Kirby are like, ‘This is so dumb. Yeah, we’re all gonna come together and say this is stupid, right, as we move forward? Because we’ve had to craft a team together, we’ve had to put a team together. We’ve been here, we’ve done that. These people have never gone, have never done what this means in team building and team chemistry and future dreams. Some people blossom late and have dreams and bet on themselves, and end up hitting.

“Whatever the case, we need dumb people out of decision-making positions.”