August 24, 2005

Back to the table of Contents Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

Walk-ons driven to succeed

by Rick Eymer

Aaron Zagory knew it would have been easier to play football at an Ivy League school but Stanford was always his first choice. Once he was accepted, the decision was easy.

Zagory preferred to become a walk-on with the Cardinal football team rather than guarantee himself playing time at another school.

"Stanford was always at the top of my list," Zagory said. "It would have been easier somewhere else but I believed I had the talent to make it at this level."

Zagory, a sophomore place kicker, realizes his chances of playing are slim behind senior Michael Sgroi, who has 32 career field goals in three years. He'll be ready, though, when and if his name is called.

He's not alone. There are 22 players currently on the Stanford roster who began their careers as a walk-on. Some of them, including Palo Alto High grad Timi Wusu and junior long snapper Brent Newhouse, have earned a scholarship. Others, like senior offensive tackle Tim Mattran and senior strong safety Bryan Bentrott, have earned varsity letters.

Perhaps the inspiration comes from Menlo-Atherton High and Stanford grad Greg Camarillo, who worked his way from little known walk-on to scholarship player to starter, and now finds himself in the training camp of the San Diego Chargers.

The Chargers are deep in wide receivers, but no one is betting against Camarillo.

"I'm not surprised," Stanford senior quarterback Trent Edwards said. "The guy works his tail off. I've seen him during practice every day and I can see the type of player he is."

Wusu may also make the same transition. He's currently listed as one of the starters at outside linebacker, and the senior has three varsity letters already in the book.

Newhouse was awarded his scholarship just before fall camp, which opened last Monday.

There are plenty of talented hopefuls ready to make the same jump. Among the six first-year walk-on players are Menlo School grad Charlie Hazlehurst and San Mateo High grad C.J. Easter.

"Stanford is always the place I wanted to be since I was a little kid," Easter said. "My dad went here. The Ivy's are great schools, but Stanford's a great school and it's Division I. I always wanted to compete with the best."

Easter was San Mateo's quarterback last season, throwing for 2,736 yards on a team (0-7, 1-9) that finished at the bottom of the PAL Bay Division. He comes to camp as a cornerback.

Hazlehurst follows in the foot steps of former Menlo School teammate Nate Wilcox-Fogel, who walked on at Stanford as a flanker last year. Hazlehurst, a quarterback and wide receiver in limited playing time with the Knights, is a wide receiver with the Cardinal. His father also attended Stanford.

"I was injured most of my senior year," Hazlehurst said. "I felt that I had the talent to play at this level. I was also looking at Penn and Yale. I knew if I went to an Ivy, no matter how much success I'd have, I would always regret not having given this a shot. I thought I could make it out here."

Other walk-ons who have seen game action include junior guard Merlin Brittenham, junior flanker Michael Miller and senior cornerback Nick Silvas.

In addition to Wilcox-Fogel and Zagory, junior place kicker Derek Belch, sophomore wide receiver Thaddeus Chase Jr., junior strong safety Peter Griffin, sophomore flanker Kelton Lynn and sophomore quarterback Garrett Moore continue practicing and waiting for their first game action.

Joining Hazlehurst and Easter as first-year walk-ons are freshman linebacker Josh Catron, junior tight end Dan McLennan, sophomore wide receiver Jason Robinson and sophomore linebacker Brandon Willetts.

McLennan last played football during his sophomore year at prep school in Massachusetts. Willetts' high school in Canada didn't have a football program.

There are traits all the walk-ons have in common, among them the drive to succeed at the highest possible level and belief in themselves. They also carry some impressive athletic credentials.

Robinson was named his school's Best Offensive Player. Catron was a first team All-CIF Southern Section pick. Wilcox-Fogel was an All-San Mateo County selection. Zagory was an all-conference player. None of them decided to walk on as a whim; they want to compete.

"I started looking into it long before college," Zagory said. "It was one of the things I considered when I chose Stanford."

Zagory actually missed fall camp last year, joining the team when school started in mid-September.

"It was difficult at first," he said. "Camp is where roles get established, but it was a little easier for me since I was a kicker and walk-ons are very integrated."

Zagory came to Stanford from Kochi, Japan via Yellow Springs, Ohio. His father, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, attended college in Japan where he met Aaron's mother. The family moved to the United States when Zagory was still an infant.

"I had to enroll in Japanese courses because I haven't been able to hold on to the language," he said. "I can understand my parents and could carry on a brief conversation."

Thanks to his father, Zagory grew up a 49ers fan rooting for Jerry Rice and Steve Young. "But I always liked Merton Hanks," he said. "He's an easy one to like."

He was also influenced by his older sister, Jessica, who played soccer and track at Swarthmore College.

"I just ended up doing most of the things she did," said Zagory, who was one of the top soccer players in his area. "The trails we took from childhood were similar in addition to her just being my sister and going to watch her play."

Beyond academics, Zagory also thinks the school's band is the best thing about Stanford.

"I'm not paying tuition to watch the band play but they are one of the things that is so unique about Stanford," he said. "It's their whole attitude and it's something the students can take pride in."

Zagory hopes the students can also take pride in the football team this year.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.