For OU walk-ons, spring is the time to shine

By Berry Tramel

Published: April 6, 2008

NORMAN — Can you stand being a nobody?

Carter Whitson figures that's the indubitable test for a football walk-on, the guys who come to school without a scholarship or a prayer and try to get their name on the depth chart, or at least their coach's brain.

Making a name for yourself. "That's what spring is for,” said Whitson.

That's what the flanker did last year, catching a 23-yard touchdown pass from Sam Bradford in the Red-White Game, hurling Whitson into temporary Sooner fame, And maybe that's what Trent Ratterree did Saturday at Owen Field. The walkon tight end from Weatherford had three catches for 34 yards in a 92-play Sooner scrimmage.

Whitson playfully calls Ratterree a "walkon pledge.” And no doubt the spring, when gameplans and first-teamers' repetitions aren't paramount, and when injuries mount, can be a time for walkons to shine.

"Being an Oklahoma boy, to come out here and play, it's a great feeling,” said Ratterree, who with a mop of old-school dark hair is a Joe Jon Finley lookalike and who is trying to take over the slot left by the departed Finley.

OU last season used three tight ends. Receiving star Jermaine Gresham. Uber blocker Brody Eldridge. And Finley, who could do quite a bit of both.

Ratterree, a true freshman who redshirted last autumn, is competing with scholarship sophomore Eric Mensik for that third tight end position. Playing mostly with the second-team offense, Ratterree not only had the three catches but got open for two others behind the OU secondary, though the passes were overthrown.

Mensek is bigger than Ratterree, but Mensek was recruited primarily to be a deep snapper, so Ratterree's walkon status doesn't put him too far behind.

"I've got improvement to make,” Ratterree said. "I feel I can do it this summer. The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.”

Sounds like part of the walkons' creed.

Ratterree had only 13 catches as a Weatherford senior. He was recruited by Colorado State but eventually was told — by text message, civility has left the planet — that the Rams were out of scholarships. So he opted for walking on at OU over Division II financial aid.

"I'd been an OU fan all my life,” Ratterree said. "I dreamed of it my whole life.”

He came to Norman at 215 pounds and was thrown into Jerry Schmidt's boot camp.

"It's tough physically,” Ratterree said. "Nothing can get you ready for Schmidtty.”

But Ratterree got through it and was rewarded; he suited up for home games last season.

"I never felt, like you see in ‘Rudy,' where they were pushing him around,” Ratterree said. "They never made me feel like a low-down walkon. You're treated really good here.”

Whitson is having the time of his life. A high-school star who quarterbacked Shawnee to the 2003 Class 5A state championship, Whitson wants to be a coach. He figures, what better preparation than being part of OU football?

"This is almost like an internship,” Whitson said. "It's unbelievable what you can learn here instead of being a regular student. And getting to play in front of 85,000 is not a bad paycheck.”

Whitson had two catches for 19 yards Saturday. He had one catch all of last season. He has no grand illusions of becoming a Sooner star.

"You know you're not going to play in front of guys like Juaquin (Iglesias) or Malcolm (Kelly),” Whitson said.

But Whitson has been asked to be OU's holder on place kicks, replacing the graduated Hays McEachern, who became a folk hero of sorts. And Whitson always will have last April 8, when his TD catch from Bradford was televised live by ESPN.

"It was amazing,” Whitson said. "I got calls from people I hadn't talked to since third grade.”

That fame is fleeting. Saturday, Ratterree was the new unknown. Whitson was back to being just another walkon.

"It's harder than you can imagine,” Whitson said. "You're the guy in high school. Then you come in and start from scratch.”

Lots of walkons don't make it. Lots of walkons give up. In the Bob Stoops era, few non-scholarship players have earned significant playing time. Linebacker Roger Steffen. Defensive end Corey Heinecke. Fullback Ian Pleasant. That's about it.

"It's never a question of them running you off,” Whitson said. "It's whether you're willing to work yourself up the ladder. Can you stand being a nobody?”

If you can, you've got a chance to be a somebody.

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