Hoosier Walk-on Defensive Lineman Gavin Everett Surprised with a Scholarship by Tom Allen During Tackling Drill
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Gavin Everett (69) breaks through the line at Virginia Image: Sarah Miller Hoosier Huddle
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
As the Hoosiers entered the dog days of fall camp the sun beat down on the field as Tom Allen rallied the team around him in a circle with his bull horn. It looked as if the Hoosiers were getting ready for the 'Bull in the Ring' drill, a drill where the team circles up and two players try to shed the block or defend the attack of the other, a tough man's drill that already had the players take it up a notch.
When Allen had the team around him and amped up, he got back on the bull horn and screamed, "You got shoulder pads on...This is about toughness...I want to see some toughness..." Everyone raised the energy level up another notch. He called out an offensive lineman and a defensive lineman on each side. On defensive he pulled in Gavin Everett, a redshirt junior from Center Grove who walked-on after leaving Western Illinois and has seven tackles to his name. On offense, Allen wanted a challenge, he pulled out Coy Cronk, a starting tackle for the Hoosiers who has started 25 career games for the Hoosiers.
As the team drew closer to the two combants, Allen stopped the drill and explained that, "this is a tough man's drill. This is about having heart. It's about having toughness, unshakeable toughness and that is why Gavin Everett is getting a scholarship!" Before the Allen could finish his statement the entire team mobbed Everett in one of the best moments of Fall Camp thus far.
Allen closed practice by praising Everett and his effort, saying that "all he does is work. He came here as a walk-on, he doesn't make excuses, he came to compete and he came to play!"
Gavin Everett came on strong late last season to be a solid contributor. This season Everett's role should expand as he has shown he can play at the Big Ten level.