Well, let me tell you, I heard some folks talkin’ ’bout this here “PWO” thing in college football. Got me all curious, you know? So I did a little diggin’, and here’s what I found out. It ain’t as fancy as it sounds, that’s for sure.
So, this PWO, it stands for somethin’ called a “Preferred Walk-On.” Now, what in tarnation does that mean? Well, it’s like this: you got these young fellas playin’ football in high school, right? Some of ’em are real good, got a lot of talent, you see. But maybe they ain’t gettin’ one of them fancy scholarships to go play at the big colleges.
Then, along comes this PWO thing. It is like an invite, but not really. A college, they say to the boy, “Hey, we like how you play. Come on over and join our team. But we ain’t got no scholarship money for ya, at least not right now.” That’s what a Preferred Walk-On is. It is a way to get on a college football team without a scholarship.
Now, why would a boy do that, you ask? Well, it’s a chance, ain’t it? A chance to play for a big college team, even if you gotta pay your own way, at first. They get to practice with the team, wear the uniform, and maybe even get in a game or two. And it can make you better if you want to play in college.
- They say these PWO boys, they can sometimes earn a scholarship later on, maybe their second year. If they work hard and show they’re good enough.
- It ain’t easy, mind you. They gotta prove themselves, just like everyone else. It is hard to be a PWO in college football.
- But for some of these boys, it’s a dream come true, just to be on that field.
I heard there’s only so many of them scholarship spots to go around. Eighty-five, I think they said. So, not everyone can get one. That’s why this PWO thing is important. It gives more boys a chance to play, even if they ain’t got a scholarship yet.
It’s like this: imagine you got a big ol’ garden. You got your prized tomatoes, right? Those are like your scholarship players. You water ’em, feed ’em, give ’em the best spots in the sun. But then you got some other plants, maybe some peppers or cucumbers. They ain’t your prized tomatoes, but they’re still good plants. You want ’em in your garden, but you ain’t got enough of that special fertilizer for all of ’em. So, you let ’em grow, see how they do. Maybe they turn out to be just as good as those tomatoes, and then you give ’em some of that fertilizer next year. These are all about how to play college football.
That’s kind of like what a PWO is. It’s a chance for those other plants to show what they can do. It is a chance for those boys who did not get a scholarship. The college football teams are the garden in this story.
These college coaches, they’re always lookin’ for good players. They go to all the high school games, watchin’ those boys play. They are like the gardener looking at the plants. They’re tryin’ to find the best ones for their team. And sometimes, they see a boy who’s good, but maybe not quite good enough for a scholarship yet. That’s when they might offer him a PWO spot.
It’s a gamble, you see. For both the boy and the college. The boy’s gamblin’ that he’ll be good enough to earn a scholarship later on. And the college is gamblin’ that he’ll be worth the spot on the team. A PWO is like a gamble.
But sometimes, it pays off. Sometimes, that PWO boy turns out to be a real star. He might even end up bein’ better than some of those scholarship boys. It can happen sometimes, even I know that. It is not that PWO means you are not good. It just means you need to work harder.
So, that’s what this whole PWO thing is all about. It’s about givin’ boys a chance. A chance to play college football, even if they ain’t got a scholarship. A chance to prove themselves. A chance to chase their dreams. It is not a bad thing to be a PWO in college football.
It ain’t easy, that’s for sure. But nothin’ worth havin’ ever is, right? These boys, they gotta work hard, just like anybody else. They gotta earn their keep, just like those scholarship boys. But if they do, it can be a real good thing. For them and for the team. It is a win-win.
So, next time you hear someone talkin’ ’bout this PWO thing, you’ll know what it means. It’s just a fancy way of sayin’ “preferred walk-on.” And it’s a chance for a boy to play college football, even if he ain’t got a scholarship. It is good for people to know what does PWO mean in college football. It ain’t so complicated after all, is it?
