We couldn’t do it without the walk-ons. We couldn’t practice properly without them, they play such a vital role. – Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
SALT LAKE CITY — Well over half the players on the University of Utah or any college football team are guys you never hear about during fall football camp. Once the season hits, they really fade into the background as the stories and headlines will concentrate on the star players such as quarterback Troy Williams or defensive lineman Lowell Lotulelei.
But close to half the players on a given football team, certainly at Utah, are walk-on players who usually toil in obscurity while still being essential to the team’s success.
They are the non-scholarship players, the walk-ons.
“We couldn’t do it without the walk-ons,” says coach Kyle Whittingham. “We couldn’t practice properly without them, they play such a vital role.”
The Utes have more than 40 walk-ons on the current roster, who must pay their own way as students. Over the years, numerous players have not only turned out to be scholarship players, but stars for the Utes, including the likes of Casey Evans, Bradon Godfrey, Christian Cox, Louie Sakoda, Mike Wright and Tevita Stevens.
“We treat walk-ons with the utmost respect,” says Whittingham. “We have probably awarded more walk-on scholarships the past 11-12 years than maybe anyone in the country. That helps them understand if you work hard and do everything right, there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Most walk-ons don’t last until their senior seasons, usually moving on if they haven’t gotten a scholarship by then, but Hayden Clegg has kept plugging away, despite not seeing much time as a defensive end.
Clegg came to Utah four years ago from Southern California when then-defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake invited him to play. Clegg had played a year at Nebraska-Omaha before an LDS mission and was looking for a place to play when he returned.
After a redshirt year, he played in all 13 games in 2014 with one start against Colorado, but most of his action came on special teams that year and again last year. With little chance to play in 2016 among a talented group of D-lineman this year, Clegg is undaunted.
“Coach Whit tells us to find a way to contribute to the team and that’s what I try and bring every day,” he said. “Every day I come with a mindset that no matter where I am or where they put me, whether it’s on the scout team or the special teams or working with the defense, I’m going to give everything I have for the team and contribute in every way that I can.”
Clegg calls being on special teams “an amazing environment” and he especially enjoys being able to let it all hang out on the kickoff team. He understands he’s playing with perhaps one of the five best defensive lines in the country and says, “I’ve learned a lot from them and honestly those guys are my best friends and I appreciate the time I have with them.”
“Hayden Clegg has been around a long time and bounced back and forth between linebacker and defensive end,” said Whittingham. “His main contribution has been on special teams and he’s been a very good special teams player for us.”
Hayes Hicken was an all-state kicker for Highland High School and as a returned missionary freshman redshirt, he backs up Andy Phillips and Mitch Wishnowsky as the team’s third place-kicker and punter.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said about fall camp. “I’ve enjoyed a lot with more reps than in spring. I’m just glad I get to work with Andy and Mitch, because they’re two of the best in the nation, if not the best.”
Hicken has no illusions about supplanting Phillips, a preseason all-American, as the Utes’ place-kicker this year. Nor does he expect to beat out the highly touted Wishnowsky as the team’s punter.
“If something bad happens I’ve got to be ready and if not, I’ve still got to be ready,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll get my shot next year, but I just have to keep proving myself now and during spring ball.”
One of Hicken’s highlights this fall came in the second week of camp when at the end of practice, Ute coaches asked Wishnowsky to end practice with a field goal. He was pushed back to 56 yards, but missed several times. So Phillips was brought in and he too missed. Then it was Hicken’s turn and he drilled one through the middle of the uprights, “probably my best kick of camp” as teammates cheered him on.
“Hayes Hicken is a tough, competitive kid,” said Whittingham. “He’s being asked to hold, place-kick, punt — he’s being asked to do it all right now and he’s doing it all with open arms. He’s got potential, he’s got a strong leg.”
Junior running back Jordan Howard came to Utah because of a friendship with Ute defensive end Kylie Fitts and an opportune meeting with Utes’ running backs coach Dennis Erickson.
“Kylie and I grew up together in Riverside, California, and went to rival high schools. He called me up one day and asked if I wanted to come to Utah. I never really thought of it. Then one of my coaches called me up and coach Erickson was in the office and we went from there.”
Howard had gone on visits to Arizona and Arizona State, but he chose Utah because of Erickson and the chance to play with former Ute running back Devontae Booker.
“Utah was the best opportunity because coach Erickson is a legend and I saw him as my RB coach,” he said. “Also Devontae was there, and he was one of the best backs in the country. I saw it as an opportunity to learn and get better.”
Howard saw a lot of action in the spring with Booker gone and Troy McCormick recovering from a severe knee injury. However, he’s not likely to see much action at running back this year with Joe Williams and McCormick holding the top spots and JC transfer Armand Shyne, who joined the team this summer in the mix along with freshmen Zack Moss, Marcelo Manalo and Devonta Henry-Cole.
However, like Clegg, he wants to make his mark wherever he can, so he thrives on the special teams.
“I’m on just about every special team — kickoffs, kickoff returns, punt returns,” he said. “I enjoy it. Any opportunity I get, I’m going to show it.”
“Jordan Howard is a tough kid, really a great teammate,” said Whittingham. “He’s all in. He doesn’t get as many reps as he’d like, but whatever you ask him to do, he’s going to do it 100 percent.”
While playing as a walk-on without a scholarship may sound like a frustrating experience, Clegg sums up the feelings of many of the walk-on players.
“Being around my teammates is really what drives me,” he said. “It’s been really rewarding, maybe not as much in the physical areas with playing time, but it’s been rewarding with the relationships with my teammates and coaches that will last a lifetime. That’s something I’ll cherish forever.”