Editor's note: This story is part of the Star's Aug. 27 college football preview section.
Rich Rodriguez takes pride in running what he considers “the best walk-on program in the country.”
It’s not merely coachspeak when you consider two stories.
The first is about Rodriguez himself.
Rodriguez was born and raised in tiny Grant Town, West Virginia, where his father worked as a coal miner. Rodriguez received scholarship offers to play small-college basketball but he wanted to play football, so he enrolled at West Virginia in 1981 and went out for the football team as a walk-on wide receiver.
Paying for college was a struggle — his father was laid off from the mine, so Rodriguez was forced to pay tuition via federal grants and his own money. Rodriguez scraped by for the year, which was enough time to earn a full-ride scholarship. At his first practice, coaches moved him to safety and by the end of his freshman year, due to transfers and injuries, Rodriguez was second string. A full ride soon followed.
Here’s another story, and this one is about Chuck Cecil, arguably the best football player in school history.
Cecil had no scholarship offers out of Helix High School in San Diego, but then-UA coach Larry Smith offered Cecil a chance to earn a scholarship as a walk-on.
Smith then changed his mind. No deal. Sorry.
“I wished Coach Smith the best and was on my way out of town, going to Idaho to milk the cows at my mom’s dairy. I was on the next bus out of town,” Cecil told the Star in 1999.
Cecil’s academic advisor intervened, Smith gave Cecil that scholarship, and he only went on to become an All-American, a College Football Hall of Famer and a seven-year NFL pro. He’s now a member of Rodriguez’s staff as a defensive analyst.
Both Cecil and Rodriguez are shining examples of the message Rodriguez often preaches — if you’re good enough to play, you’ll play.
“I think personally because I went through it myself and it’s been so important throughout our program’s history here and other places I’ve been, I think if you ask anyone on the team, a lot of times they don’t know who the walk-ons are and aren’t,” Rodriguez said. “Everything gets treated the same.”
Added Cecil: “In my life, anybody that thinks that fairy tales don’t come true, I’m standing here. My time in Tucson was a true Cinderella story.”
A few Wildcats walk-ons — and former walk-ons — will receive significant playing time this season
Here are their Cinderella stories.
Parker Zellers
Position: Nose tackle
Height/Weight: 6-1, 250
Numbers: 49 tackles, 5 TFL, 3 sacks in 34 games
On scholarship? Yes
His story: No major programs wanted a 6-foot-nothing, 200-something pound nose tackle out of Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep. Arizona offered Zellers a preferred walk-on spot as part of its 2013 recruiting class. Four years later, Zellers is on scholarship and may be Arizona’s most experienced defensive player and a team leader. Recently, for the first time, he reached 250 pounds.
He said it: “I never would’ve thought I got to this point, but a lot of things just went my way with hard work and taking advantage of opportunities, it panned out to be a lot bigger than I expected it to be. A lot of people said I was crazy for going Division I, that I’d never play. So I didn’t think this would all happen.”
Justin Belknap
Position: Defensive end
Height/Weight: 6-3, 259
Numbers: 16 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack in 12 games
On scholarship? Yes
His story: Belknap emerged as a redshirt freshman last season, running with the first team from the outset of fall camp. Belknap received no major offers out of Coronado High School in Henderson, Nevada, so he enrolled at Arizona as a preferred walk-on. From the first game last season, Belknap, who only weighed 247 pounds at the time, started at defensive end. Rodriguez gave Belknap a scholarship this summer, calling his mother on Mother’s Day to relay the news.
He said it: “A bunch of the players I came in with, who were walk-ons with me, aren’t here any more, and I always keep that in the back of my mind, that I don’t want to fall short and I want to earn a scholarship because it’s not cheap here. But I love it. I love having that chip on my shoulder.”
Larry Tharpe Jr.
Position: Defensive tackle/end
Height/weight: 6-5, 279
Numbers: 16 tackles, 2.5 TFL in eight games
On scholarship? No
His story: This time last year, Tharpe was at home, sitting on his couch, not a part of any team or roster. He began his college journey at Idaho State after not receiving any offers and transferred to Tyler Community College before the Wildcats added him to their roster just days before the season was to begin last year. Tharpe’s pedigree — his father was a longtime NFL offensive lineman — wasn’t enough for college coaches initially. Last year, Tharpe was one of Arizona’s best defensive linemen.
He said it: “It feels good, it’s a different feeling than last year. I came in as a new guy, I didn’t know anybody, I was kind of quiet. Now I know everybody and it’s a good time. … We bond as walk-ons. They give you a chance. It’s not like you take a back seat to the starting guys. If you can play, you’re gonna play.”
Lee Anderson III
Position: Defensive end/outside linebacker
Height/Weight: 6-1, 235
Numbers: Two games played
On scholarship? No
His story: Anderson was an undersized middle linebacker at Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley, California, so his productive senior season (136 tackles, eight sacks) didn’t make much of a recruiting dent. Arizona saw his highlight film and offered him a preferred walk-on spot. Now a sophomore, he has a chance to start at “stud” linebacker in Week 1.
He said it: “It’s exciting. It’s really exciting. It shows that anything is possible. It’s great. … (Arizona) offered me a preferred walk-on spot then I came here and fell in love with it, so of course I was going to come here.”
Brandon Rutt
Position: Middle linebacker
Height/Weight: 6-3, 227
Numbers: 27 tackles, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries in 24 games
On scholarship? Yes
His story: Walk-ons at most schools come from in-state. In 2014, Rutt was just another in-state walk-on face in the crowd, without any offers coming out of Basha in Phoenix. In four years, Rutt earned a scholarship and enters 2017 as Arizona’s most experienced linebacker. He tied for the team lead last season with three takeaways.
His words: “Just knowing that all your hard work paid off. During camp last year (UA coach Rich Rodriguez) called me into his office and said, ‘I would like to congratulate you on your scholarship, we’re proud of you.’”
