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SOUTH BEND — Luke Talich, a preferred walk-on safety for Notre Dame football turned scholarship-holding contributor, was not among those called to testify in the House settlement hearing on April 7 in Oakland, Calif.
Now a rising junior for the Irish, Talich offered his broad-based thoughts on proposed roster limitations after a recent spring practice.
“I think it’s tragic, honestly,” Talich said ahead of Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. “As a walk-on myself, if I was two years younger, I would never have that opportunity.”
While senior U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken suggested that opportunities for walk-ons be protected, the specter of a July 1 implementation still looms within the $2.8 billion revenue-sharing settlement.
Under a proposal from the NCAA and lawyers for Power-4 conferences, FBS-level football rosters could be reduced to 105 players, starting this fall.
With major programs set to work from a de facto salary cap of $20.5 million across all sports, and with the vast majority of that earmarked for football, the value proposition for walk-ons could evaporate.
In Notre Dame football’s case, the fall roster projects at 120 players, including 13 scholarship signees or incoming transfers set to enroll in June. Any cutdown to 105 figures to affect those who enroll without athletic scholarship assistance.
“I don’t know what the system is; I don’t know how it has to work,” Talich said. “But there has to be some system for walk-ons, I believe.”
James Rendell: Notre Dame football has a legitimate fake-punt weapon in Australian James Rendell
A coach’s son from the northwestern Wyoming town of Cody (pop. 10,240), Talich passed up scholarship offers from Wyoming, Oregon State, Utah, Washington State and Colorado State to walk on at his dream school.
By November of his freshman year in 2023, Talich’s play on Irish special teams had earned him a scholarship, even as he faced clavicle surgery.
Now listed at 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds, he worries such stories will become rare, if not impossible, should the House settlement be approved.
“What’s free agency in the NFL? It’s kind of walking on,” he said. “I don’t think you should just limit or kill those opportunities for all those kids. You think about this new settlement that’s coming, the amount of kids that are going to be looking for some place to go, and there’s probably not going to be that many places.”
Indeed, this could become a sad game of musical chairs.
“It’s not good,” Talich said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. Technically, I guess it has to do with NIL (Name, Image and Likeness). For me, and for a lot of people in America, it’s never been about money.
“Our parents didn’t grow up making money in college. You made zero dollars in college, and that was fine. I don’t know what the solution is, but I don’t think (roster limitation) is a good thing.”
Max Hurleman, the Colgate graduate transfer who became Notre Dame’s primary punt returner after walking on last fall, has concerns as well.
Max Hurleman: Small-town kid plays big, jumps into the ring with Notre Dame football
“I definitely think guys can get lost in the mix,” Hurleman said. “And there’s a ton of different politics that go into a lot of these things. Certainly kids get lost in the shuffle depending on where they’re from or if you play for a smaller high school.”
The 5-11 Hurleman had few opportunities out of Wyomissing, Pa. (pop 11,132).
“There’s countless reasons why, and I do think that’s a possibility, and it’s a shame,” Hurleman said of future walk-ons being overlooked or left out altogether. “The cream will rise to the top, I think, so it will all work out in the end, but that is a fear, yes.”
Jaylen Sneed: 'Robot' days behind him, a 'more explosive' linebacker is ready to detonate for Notre Dame football
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman has seen first-hand the value of walk-ons.
In addition to Talich and Hurleman, notable Freeman-era walk-ons have included wide receiver Jordan Faison, the Sun Bowl MVP as a freshman; tight end Davis Sherwood; defensive lineman Kobi Onyiuke; holders Chris Salerno and Dylan Devezin; long snappers Rino Monteforte, Andrew Kros and Joseph Vinci; kicker Zac Yoakam; punter Jon Sot (a Harvard grad transfer); defensive back Marty Auer; and running back Skip Velotta.
Like Talich, Faison and Sherwood earned scholarships with their football prowess.
Asked on April 5 about the specter of having to cut walk-ons from the Notre Dame roster, Freeman gave a clear-eyed answer.
“We have a plan depending on how the settlement is determined … whenever it happens,” he said. “I'm not spending much time thinking about it until they make a decision.”
Freeman must sort through scenarios with athletic director Pete Bevacqua, newly hired general manager Mike Martin, a longtime NFL scouting official, and others, including the coaching staff.
Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi has made excellent use of walk-ons, but that dynamic could change drastically.
"If you have to make some difficult decisions in terms of cutting your roster to 105, it's going to be difficult because you care about every person in that room that has given everything they’ve got to Notre Dame,” Freeman said. “But we also know that could be a possibility. We'll wait until the settlement is finalized. I’m good with our plan.”
With so much uncertainty surrounding the House settlement hearings and its implementation, walk-ons around the country have never faced more pressure.
That holds true at Notre Dame, where there’s a proud history of walk-ons and a fraternity of sorts known as WOPU Nation.
“They have to do their thing,” Talich said. “They have to fend for themselves. They have to look out for their well-being. They need to have a plan if they do get cut, because they don’t know. And I don’t know how that is going to be communicated or whatever.”
Talich has worked his way to first-team practice repetitions this spring. The transfer portal was never a consideration, he said, even after helping Notre Dame reach the national championship game.
One of the signature moments of last season was Talich’s 79-yard interception return for a touchdown in a blowout of Florida State. His status as a former walk-on only made that long trip down the visitors’ sideline sweeter.
“I feel like I kind of represent kids who come from small communities and want to go big and don’t really ever have those opportunities,” Talich said. “Because the truth is you’re never going to get recruited from Notre Dame in Cody, Wyoming — ever. I had to come here in order to get a chance.”
Talich attended an Irish-run summer evaluation camp after his junior year of high school. It’s fair to wonder if potential walk-ons will even get those sorts of invitations under a new system.
“There’s so many kids that have that same mentality,” Talich said. “I think this settlement … could definitely hurt kids like that. I just think of myself. Why would they give a kid from Wyoming who doesn’t play any competition a scholarship? They’re not going to because they don’t know enough.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Walk-ons of Notre Dame football brace for potential roster cuts
Continue reading...
Now a rising junior for the Irish, Talich offered his broad-based thoughts on proposed roster limitations after a recent spring practice.
“I think it’s tragic, honestly,” Talich said ahead of Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. “As a walk-on myself, if I was two years younger, I would never have that opportunity.”
While senior U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken suggested that opportunities for walk-ons be protected, the specter of a July 1 implementation still looms within the $2.8 billion revenue-sharing settlement.
Under a proposal from the NCAA and lawyers for Power-4 conferences, FBS-level football rosters could be reduced to 105 players, starting this fall.
With major programs set to work from a de facto salary cap of $20.5 million across all sports, and with the vast majority of that earmarked for football, the value proposition for walk-ons could evaporate.
In Notre Dame football’s case, the fall roster projects at 120 players, including 13 scholarship signees or incoming transfers set to enroll in June. Any cutdown to 105 figures to affect those who enroll without athletic scholarship assistance.
“I don’t know what the system is; I don’t know how it has to work,” Talich said. “But there has to be some system for walk-ons, I believe.”
James Rendell: Notre Dame football has a legitimate fake-punt weapon in Australian James Rendell
Notre Dame football walk-ons could face a sad game of musical chairs
A coach’s son from the northwestern Wyoming town of Cody (pop. 10,240), Talich passed up scholarship offers from Wyoming, Oregon State, Utah, Washington State and Colorado State to walk on at his dream school.
By November of his freshman year in 2023, Talich’s play on Irish special teams had earned him a scholarship, even as he faced clavicle surgery.
Now listed at 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds, he worries such stories will become rare, if not impossible, should the House settlement be approved.
“What’s free agency in the NFL? It’s kind of walking on,” he said. “I don’t think you should just limit or kill those opportunities for all those kids. You think about this new settlement that’s coming, the amount of kids that are going to be looking for some place to go, and there’s probably not going to be that many places.”
Indeed, this could become a sad game of musical chairs.
“It’s not good,” Talich said. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. Technically, I guess it has to do with NIL (Name, Image and Likeness). For me, and for a lot of people in America, it’s never been about money.
“Our parents didn’t grow up making money in college. You made zero dollars in college, and that was fine. I don’t know what the solution is, but I don’t think (roster limitation) is a good thing.”
Max Hurleman, the Colgate graduate transfer who became Notre Dame’s primary punt returner after walking on last fall, has concerns as well.
Max Hurleman: Small-town kid plays big, jumps into the ring with Notre Dame football
“I definitely think guys can get lost in the mix,” Hurleman said. “And there’s a ton of different politics that go into a lot of these things. Certainly kids get lost in the shuffle depending on where they’re from or if you play for a smaller high school.”
The 5-11 Hurleman had few opportunities out of Wyomissing, Pa. (pop 11,132).
“There’s countless reasons why, and I do think that’s a possibility, and it’s a shame,” Hurleman said of future walk-ons being overlooked or left out altogether. “The cream will rise to the top, I think, so it will all work out in the end, but that is a fear, yes.”
Jaylen Sneed: 'Robot' days behind him, a 'more explosive' linebacker is ready to detonate for Notre Dame football
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman balances the human cost
Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman has seen first-hand the value of walk-ons.
In addition to Talich and Hurleman, notable Freeman-era walk-ons have included wide receiver Jordan Faison, the Sun Bowl MVP as a freshman; tight end Davis Sherwood; defensive lineman Kobi Onyiuke; holders Chris Salerno and Dylan Devezin; long snappers Rino Monteforte, Andrew Kros and Joseph Vinci; kicker Zac Yoakam; punter Jon Sot (a Harvard grad transfer); defensive back Marty Auer; and running back Skip Velotta.
Like Talich, Faison and Sherwood earned scholarships with their football prowess.
Asked on April 5 about the specter of having to cut walk-ons from the Notre Dame roster, Freeman gave a clear-eyed answer.
“We have a plan depending on how the settlement is determined … whenever it happens,” he said. “I'm not spending much time thinking about it until they make a decision.”
Freeman must sort through scenarios with athletic director Pete Bevacqua, newly hired general manager Mike Martin, a longtime NFL scouting official, and others, including the coaching staff.
Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi has made excellent use of walk-ons, but that dynamic could change drastically.
"If you have to make some difficult decisions in terms of cutting your roster to 105, it's going to be difficult because you care about every person in that room that has given everything they’ve got to Notre Dame,” Freeman said. “But we also know that could be a possibility. We'll wait until the settlement is finalized. I’m good with our plan.”
House settlement could leave walk-ons to 'fend for themselves'
With so much uncertainty surrounding the House settlement hearings and its implementation, walk-ons around the country have never faced more pressure.
That holds true at Notre Dame, where there’s a proud history of walk-ons and a fraternity of sorts known as WOPU Nation.
“They have to do their thing,” Talich said. “They have to fend for themselves. They have to look out for their well-being. They need to have a plan if they do get cut, because they don’t know. And I don’t know how that is going to be communicated or whatever.”
Talich has worked his way to first-team practice repetitions this spring. The transfer portal was never a consideration, he said, even after helping Notre Dame reach the national championship game.
One of the signature moments of last season was Talich’s 79-yard interception return for a touchdown in a blowout of Florida State. His status as a former walk-on only made that long trip down the visitors’ sideline sweeter.
“I feel like I kind of represent kids who come from small communities and want to go big and don’t really ever have those opportunities,” Talich said. “Because the truth is you’re never going to get recruited from Notre Dame in Cody, Wyoming — ever. I had to come here in order to get a chance.”
Talich attended an Irish-run summer evaluation camp after his junior year of high school. It’s fair to wonder if potential walk-ons will even get those sorts of invitations under a new system.
“There’s so many kids that have that same mentality,” Talich said. “I think this settlement … could definitely hurt kids like that. I just think of myself. Why would they give a kid from Wyoming who doesn’t play any competition a scholarship? They’re not going to because they don’t know enough.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Walk-ons of Notre Dame football brace for potential roster cuts
Continue reading...
