We've all seen videos in which a coach lets a walk-on know he has earned a scholarship; but have you ever stepped back and thought about what that really means for that young man and his family?
I saw the video below today in which Wisconsin's Gary Andersen awards a scholarship to a walk-on player.
It turns out that player is Connor Udelhoven, a redshirt sophomore from St. Paul, MN. Well, according to Collegedata.com, the annual value of that scholarship to Connor and his family is over $35,000 in tuition, fees, room & board. With his three years remaining, and assuming he maintains that scholarship, this award was worth over $100,000 to the Udelhovens. Oh, and you know what else, this reaffirmed in Connor (and hopefully in a lot of young men) the conviction that hard work does pay off.
I don't know what the future holds for Connor Udelhoven; but I am very confident that this award will be very important in the foundation of his future. Congratulations to you and keep up the good work.