Ohio State football | Scholarship for walk-on Joe Burger a family tradition

   

  One of Ohio State’s seven football captains is not like the others. Joe Burger is not a starter. Until this year, the senior linebacker wasn’t even on scholarship. Burger, along with fellow senior and roommate Craig Fada, was put on scholarship this year. He becomes the latest in a long line of Burgers who have earned scholarships the hard way. His dad and a brother were walk-ons who earned football scholarships at Notre Dame. Two other brothers followed the same route in golf at Xavier. 

   Burger earned the scholarship and the captaincy with an unrelenting work ethic and an unflagging spirit. Burger is expected to play on the punt and kickoff teams this year, so he does contribute on the field. He was talented enough at Cincinnati LaSalle High School to earn scholarship offers, including one from Bowling Green, Ohio State’s opponent Saturday. But his greatest impact is the effect he has on others.

   These are the kind of players that have heart which is something every coach loves having on his/her team. Skill is amazing but in the end of the day when you have heart and that's something special. His hard work is finally paying off and he is recognized by his peers as someone who is the ideal example of what a captain should be. He is the very definition of a blue collar athlete who makes everyone around him better and he has earned this scholarship. This is certainly an amazing thing Ohio State has done in rewarding him for his hard work.

http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2016/08/31/joe-burger-family-tradition.html

References

Rabinowitz, Bill. "Ohio State football | Scholarship for walk-on Joe Burger a family tradition." Buckeyextra (2016): 1.