Another White Walk-On
Steve Sailer, Unz Review, December 28, 2023
Cody Schrader is an All-American running back who rushed for 1500 yards for the U. of Missouri Tigers this season, who play in the SouthEastern Conference, the #1 conference in college football. And he’s white.
He has had a pretty typical career for a late maturing white running back.
He was all-state in Missouri in high school, but was a zero star recruit. So he went to an obscure Division II college for four years, rushing for over 2000 yards in his senior year.
But when he entered the transfer portal, he got no scholarship offers from any Division I college. So he walked on at homestate Mizzou and worked his way into a starter last season and a star this season.
His coach told The Athletic:
“People struggle to say this in the right way and it’s one of those taboo things, but he is a white running back,” Luper said. “Whether you want to say he gets discriminated against or overlooked, however you want to say it, but he ended up saying, ‘I wanna bet on myself,’ and he walked on at Mizzou. He did it himself.”
I can’t find his birthdate, but he’s been in college for six years, so he’s older than most of the competition. Schrader will probably, I’m guessing, play a few years in the NFL on special teams.
He’s the 13th out of 14 winners of the Burlsworth Trophy for best college player of the year who started his Division I career as a walk-on without a football scholarship to be white.
