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Pete Thamel, ESPN
DESTIN, Fla. — SEC football coaches aren't sure what roster caps will look like under a new settlement that could upend college sports, and it could be months before they have an answer.
Coaches made it clear at the SEC spring meetings on Tuesday that they want walk-ons to be a part of college football going forward as details for roster camps are being worked out.
First-year Texas A&M coach Mike Elko was one of the most vocal opponents of the proposal to limit scholarship players to 85.
“I'm firmly against it,” he said, “I think it goes completely against the ideals and the purpose of college football. I think it's a big problem, especially when you think about the legacy of the kids at Texas A&M who may be deprived of the opportunity to play football at Texas A&M.”
“I think this is really bad for the sport.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart began his comments by saying he wanted to know what the settlement was and what it entailed before he could offer a definitive opinion on the issue. He made it clear that the very idea of eliminating walk-ons is puzzling, noting that coaches like Will Muskamp and Dabo Swinney began their coaching careers as walk-ons.
“I don't know anyone who's against walk-ons,” he said. “What does it cost us? I think it's a disservice to high school football, and football in general, when kids can't even dream about a walk-on opportunity.”
The issue hits home for other coaches, too. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea is a former walk-on who now coaches at his alma mater. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said his son Brady was a walk-on at Texas. Elko coaches at a school that includes a tradition of multiple walk-ons, with a 12th man being part of the school's lore that began in 1922 when a student played in a game from the stands.
Sarkisian noted that Texas has 35 walk-ons and that the caliber of walk-ons reflects “the nature of college football.”
It will still be several months before coaches know what the roster cap will look like, and in the coming months commissioners and athletic directors will work out the details of how the roster cap will work. The idea of severely limiting the number of scholarship players and leaving no spots open for walk-ons would obviously face stiff protest, so there seems to be plenty of time and momentum for a common-sense solution.
“Hopefully we can find common ground on a reasonable number,” Sarkisian said. “Again, I'm not against change. Change happens, OK? But hopefully we can find a reasonable number that allows us to feel like we can operate at a high level as coaches and as players.”
Alabama coach Karen DeBoer said he's seen rosters as low as 105 and as high as 135 during his coaching career. Larger rosters offer health and safety advantages by allowing coaches to limit the number of practices starters can get, while also maximizing the number of practices available to developmental reserve players.
“There's a lot of variables that come into play,” DeBoer said, “so it's first and foremost about health, safety, efficiency and having effective practices that we want to execute every day, which is important with the number of guys that we have on the roster.”
The fate of walk-ons was one of the focal points of the day, but the coaching staff made it clear they wanted to hear more from SEC officials when they meet here this week, and a decision on the matter may not be made until after the 2024 season.
“I just don't think any of the stories I've heard are credible,” Leah said. “I think it's all unconfirmed. I'd like to know a little more about it all.”
