Five key impacts of the proposed 85-man roster limit in college football | Goodbread

Among the various impacts of the House vs. NCAA court settlement is the possibility of roster limits, rather than scholarship limits, and there is much discussion about an 85-man limit in college football. That would eliminate walk-ons from the sport, and coaches used to the practice advantage of having more than 120-plus players are pushing back hard on the idea. A compromise could be forthcoming, but if a hard cap of 85 per roster is put in place, coaches will face plenty of adjustments.

Here are five key impacts that eliminating walk-ons would have on college football:

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1) Scholarships for specialists

A cut to 85 roster spots is potentially great news for high school kickers, punters and long snappers everywhere. Although some kickers get scholarships straight from high school, most are walk-ons, while punters and long snappers are almost exclusively walk-ons. If coaches are forced to give them scholarships, how many would they allocate? A good bet would be six total — two kickers, two punters and two long snappers — although some coaches might be inclined to train their centers to long snap. Third-string specialists? Forget it. Coaches would instead establish an emergency option from position players.

2) More cross-training

Let's do some quick math: 85 scholarships minus the 66 players needed for a first, second and third string at every offensive and defensive position leaves 19 roster spots. If another six scholarships are reserved for the specialists, that leaves 13. Don't be surprised if coaches develop some two-way players among those 13, likely made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, by giving them practice reps on both sides of the ball. As injuries mount late in the season, it would be the best way to approach depth concerns. It could also lead to coaches recruiting a few more players with two-way experience.

3) Better practice looks

A roster limit of 85 would inherently make scout teams more competitive, which in turn means better preparation for starters. Scout teams are generally made up of walk-ons, and a handful of scholarship freshmen who haven't been able to crack the depth chart. A scout team made up exclusively of scholarship players would add skill and athleticism across from the starters.

4) Developmental challenges

The math demands, with the impact on scout teams noted above, that a lot of third-string talent will be pressed into scout-team duty. That means more scholarship players spending the fall studying and executing the upcoming opponent's offense and defense, which stunts development in their team's own system.

5) No more Rudys

So much for Rudy Ruettiger — the ex-Notre Dame walk-on whose inspiring story was made into the TriStar Pictures film Rudy — and underappreciated high school players like him. Some walk-ons have gone on to great careers, the most notable from Alabama recently being cornerback Levi Wallace, who is now entering his seventh NFL season. Wallace wasn't even in the recruited walk-on category; he made Alabama's team at an open tryout and eventually became a starting cornerback. His story wouldn't be possible under the proposed roster limit; the Wallaces of the world will have to turn to non-scholarship programs.

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on X.com @chasegoodbread.