Scholarship possibility keeps UNLV walk-ons playing with hope
In the most emotional moment of UNLV’s spring football practice, Rebels coach Tony Sanchez made a surprise announcement to the team after its final workout before spring break that junior walk-on linebacker Roscoe Kalilikane would be awarded a scholarship.
The players then broke into a boisterous “Ros-coe” chant and hoisted the Hawaiian onto their shoulders.
It was a surreal scene that UNLV redshirt freshmen walk-ons Allan Cui and Christian Lopez can only hope to repeat one day.
“That was awesome to see,” said Lopez, a former Green Valley High School quarterback. “Hopefully, one day, that’s me at the top of the pile.”
Said Cui, a 5-foot-5-inch wide receiver: “That’s the dream right there. That’s the goal coming out here so my parents don’t have to pay for school.”
Cui enrolled at UNLV in the fall and earned a spot in spring practice through an open tryout in February, when he ran the fastest 40-yard dash, at 4.4 seconds, out of 57 full-time students.
Cui has continued to impress the coaching staff in practice while brushing aside good-natured jabs about his height.
“I’m one of the smallest guys out here, so they always dog on me about my height,” he said. “But all my life, I was always the smallest guy on the team, so I just have to show them it’s not how big you are but how big you play.
“Everybody overlooks the small guy but small guys can play, too.”
UNLV is allowed to carry 85 scholarship players and 105 overall, leaving 20 spots open for walk-ons. After accounting for returnees, there are typically a handful of spots up for grabs each season.
“Their No. 1 job is to make the fall roster, and then it’s to try to get onto a travel roster,” Sanchez said of walk-ons. “From there, there’s a possibility of getting a scholarship. But it’s a competitive deal.
“A lot of them contribute a lot of spirit and a lot of guts to our program but will never be on scholarship, and there are others that will earn one.”
Sanchez said Cui has been a pleasant surprise.
“He’s dynamic,” Sanchez said. “He’s a hard-working kid. The thing that surprised me the most was his ability to catch punts and kickoffs. He’s got a chance to earn himself a spot on the travel squad and special teams and be a contributor the next couple of years.”
Lopez, who didn’t receive any Division I scholarship offers coming out of Green Valley, said playing on the Rebels’ scout team in practice last season strengthened his arm and his mind.
“As a walk-on, you have to be gritty every day and wake up with the same attitude. You have to go after it,” he said. “You’re not the same as the other guys. The other guys get more respect, but as a walk-on, you’ve got to earn it and get your stripes on your own. It’s a daily grind.”
Lopez said he’s inspired by his two older brothers and driven by the memory of his mother, who died when he was in eighth grade.
“Even since then, me and my brothers look after each other and try to be successful on our own,” he said. “Mybrothers are my real inspirations.”
Sanchez said Lopez has progressed since last season.
“He’s only a freshman. If he continues to work and push himself, he’s got a strong enough arm and is a smart enough kid that at some point, he can earn himself on, too,” he said. “But we’re a long way from that. They’ve just got to keep working.”
Kalilikane said he’s offered some advice to Cui, a fellow Honolulan, on the art of being a walk-on.
“He just has to understand all these other guys have scholarships, and you have to work twice as hard as they work, and you have to put in twice as much effort as they do,” Kalilikane said. “At the end of the day, this is a business to the coaches, and if you’re not producing, you’re going to fall behind.”
Kalilikane was falling behind in his bills and said this probably would have been his final semester at UNLV had Sanchez not awarded him a scholarship in a moment he described as “shocking.”
“I had no idea whatsoever,” he said. “If I didn’t earn that, I probably would’ve went home and got a job.
“It’s a really big deal for me because I’m the only person in my family that went to college, and I’m on my way to graduation.”
NOTE — UNLV’s annual spring game will take place at noon Saturday on campus at Peter Johann Memorial Field. The family-friendly event is free and open to the public.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow on Twitter: @tdewey33
