Dabo: Proposed lineup changes ‘so irritating’

David Hale, ESPN Staff WriterJul 25, 2024, 05:22 PM ET

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• College football reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012. Graduate of the University of Delaware.CHARLOTTE,
• N.C.– College football may quickly bid farewell to walk-on players, and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, a former walk-on player at Alabama, said it will be a big loss for the sport.As part of the settlement in the House vs. NCAA case, schools can no longer be restricted in the

  number of scholarships they offer, though lineup sizes can still be capped. Administrators fasted to push for a lower cap– likely between 105 and 110 players, according to several sources– in order to lower expenses that would feature a huge dive in scholarships.Editor’s Picks 2 Related The result will be that many present walk-ons will be required from getting involved on their present groups, causing an outcry amongst

  coaches.”

  This is the most united coaches have actually been in the history of football,”Swinney stated.”It’s so frustrating.”Swinney started his profession as a walk-on receiver

  at Alabama, earning a scholarship after two years on scout team. That experience, he stated, led him to a job as a

  graduate assistant and, eventually, a receivers coach for Gene Stallings and, eventually, a two-time national championship winning head coach at Clemson. Had he not been able to walk on to Alabama’s group as a freshman, however, none of that would’ve happened.”That doesn’t occur if [Stallings] had not seen me,”Swinney said.” I can’t even picture how various things would’ve been.”North Carolina head coach Mack Brown said the child of

  passing game coordinator Lonnie Galloway, the kid of a trustee, and sons of a number of former Tar Heels players are all among the walk-ons in Chapel Hill,

  and if the situation isn’t dealt with, he’ll have to cut all of them loose.”I need to inform them in January they can’t play football anymore. That’s the hardest thing for kids. The money’s crazy, however we’ll handle all that. But informing a kid that’s been on your team and done whatever right that you can’t play football anymore?”Swinney said internally Clemson has brainstormed possible work-arounds, including a grandpa stipulation that would enable existing walk-ons to stay with their teams until graduation and even beginning club football teams who would experiment the scholarship players however play games versus club teams from other schools. “We have actually been trying to find out how to assault it from lots of angles,”Swinney said.Clemson, in particular, has an abundant history of success with walk-ons, consisting of Phillip Price, a beginning left deal with on the Tigers ‘2009 ACC champion team, and Hunter Renfrow, a previous walk-on who captured the game-winning goal in Clemson’s 2016 championship game and now plays in the NFL.Swinney pointed to

  the Burlsworth Prize, which is given annually to the nation’s leading former walk-on, as an example of simply how many players show up without a scholarship but depart as stars.”We have actually had excellent success with walk-ons, “stated Cal coach Justin Wilcox. “There are 2 guys that are playing in the NFL today that were walk-ons

  . I do not want to lose that.”Some top walk-ons would likely earn scholarships when the limit is increased, but many others would likely decide to head to lower levels in order to keep playing.On the other side, if each school includes 20

  or more scholarships to go from the existing limit of 85 to the proposed 105 or more, that would open upwards of 1,300 scholarships at the Power 4 level all at once, most likely inducing a groundswell of transfers from Group of Five and FCS programs.The transfers are not likely to stop there, nevertheless. Swinney noted that the majority of teams only take a trip 80 players for roadway games, suggesting 25 or more scholarship players will be left. That, he stated, will almost certainly result in disappointment and ever more players getting in the website at year’s end.The bigger number of scholarships, however, still represents a decrease in general lineup size. The majority of Power 4 groups will enter this season with a minimum of 120 players rostered– a need, Swinney stated, to practice efficiently and to resolve attrition over the course of a season.Swinney indicated Florida State’s appearance in the 2023 Orange Bowl when 20 regulars missed out on the game due to opt-outs or transfer.”Mike Norvell would’ve needed to forfeit the Orange Bowl without walk-ons, “he stated.

  “It’s going to be an issue. There’s going to be some championship game not played.”