On the day a “walk-on” is given a scholarship, there is an unbelievable array of emotions that pass through their mind and take over their bodies. It’s exhilarating and rewarding. How can it not be? Short of making it in the NFL, this athlete has reached a level of accomplishment few will ever achieve. One can’t help but think of the movie “Rudy”, to understand the entire myriad of euphoric emotions these young men must be experiencing. Just ask Coach Will Muschamp of the Florida Gators, a walk-on himself, who became a safety for the Georgia Bulldogs, on how it felt to accomplish this amazing goal. “I know I’ll never forget the day that I was awarded a scholarship,” Muschamp said. “We did it in front of the team and it was an emotional time.”
Over the weekend, Muschamp awarded scholarships to David Lerner (punter), Scott Peek (linebacker), William Steinmann (tight end) and Tim Clark,(defensive back). It was a concrete way for Muschamp to help some of the scholarship players understand what the value of a scholarship really means. “I told our scholarship guys, sometimes you take things for granted as far as what you have to complain and moan about some things, and have these guys paying for what – they want to be in your shoes,” he said. “It was great for our football team.” Coach Muschamp went on to single out one of the new scholarship players. He thought it was important to recognize David Lerner’s remarkable accomplishment that even in the face of daunting heath issues he overcame all obstacles to become an important asset to this Gator team. Lerner recently found out on July 11 that he had Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory gastrointestinal disease that causes extreme pain throughout the digestive tract). In spite of numerous IV treatments to control the disease plus a weight loss of 15 pounds, David never missed a day of fall practice. He epitomizes what it means to be a Florida Gator. “He certainly is an inspiration to me and just watching him and how he’s handled himself.” said Muschamp. If the rest of the Gators play to the level of the skills they have been given, (just as the new scholarships), then we have an exciting season to look forward to.







