Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The Penn State Nittany Lions awarded junior linebacker Von Walker, who was previously a walk-on, a full scholarship for the upcoming season.
Penn State head coach James Franklin made the announcement during a team meeting on Tuesday and the video quickly made it’s way to the internet as Franklin congratulated Walker on the big moment.
“Really proud of @VTW21 -your attitude & hard work earned this. Great representation of the blue & white. #PSUnrivaled,” Franklin tweeted.
Really proud of @VTW21 -your attitude & hard work earned this. Great representation of the blue & white. #PSUnrivaled http://t.co/6OfW2MDEaZ
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) April 28, 2015
Penn State defensive coordinator and safeties coach Bob Shoop also congratulated Walker for the big achievement.
Congrats to @VTW21 on EARNING his $$$$..Von has earned the respect of this coaching staff as much as anyone in the program. #MostImproved
— Bob Shoop (@Coach_ShoopPSU) April 28, 2015
In an official press release announcing Walker’s full scholarship, Franklin again applauded the linebacker for his hard work and work ethic, while he made it clear that the scholarship was “earned” and not given.
“Von Walker is the example of everything that represents Penn State football,” Franklin said.
“He is blue collar, hard-nosed, works his butt off day in and day out and always has positive energy at practice. He has improved as much as anybody on our team since we arrived. Make no mistake about it, I am not giving Von a scholarship, he has earned this full scholarship.”
