todd auer retweetet
A 245-pound walk-on nerd with Coke-bottle glasses became an All-American.
11 days after signing an NFL contract… he was dead.
Brandon Burlsworth turned down smaller scholarships to walk on at Arkansas. Walk-ons almost never earn scholarships at major SEC programs — rosters are stacked with blue-chip recruits, and the few open spots go to guys the coaches already know.
He showed up at 245. The O-line coach told him linemen need to be over 300. So he ate his way to 300 — and showed up out of shape. Coach redshirted him.
He used that year. Dropped 40 pounds of fat. Walked into the gym and lifted his way to 40 pounds of muscle. Earned a scholarship by his sophomore year. Started every game for three straight seasons. First-team All-SEC in '97 and '98. All-American.
The Indianapolis Colts drafted him in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft.
Eleven days later, driving home from a workout in Fayetteville, his car clipped an 18-wheeler and hit another head-on. He was 22.
Arkansas retired his #77. The Burlsworth Trophy is now awarded every year to college football's most outstanding walk-on.
No scholarship. No connections. Just work. Nobody gave him a thing.
#NSNG #Burlsworth #Arkansas #WalkOn #CollegeFootball #NFL #Razorbacks #Hustle #NoSugarNoGrains
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