Northwestern University Athletics
Three Walk-ons Awarded Full Athletic Scholarships
9/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 21, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald announced today that three walk-on student-athletes have been awarded full athletic scholarships for the 2010-11 academic year: senior long-snapper John Henry Pace (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central), senior defensive lineman Andrew Struckmeyer (Vienna, Va./Thomas Jefferson) and junior cornerback Ricky Weina (Union Grove, Wis./Union Grove Union).
"These three players have made significant contributions to our football program, both on and off the field, and are certainly deserving of a scholarship," said Fitzgerald. "Our walk-ons invest greatly in our program and are integral to our success. In addition, our coaching staff does a tremendous job of identifying non-scholarship student-athletes who can prosper within our football family."
Pace is in his second year as a long-snapper for Northwestern's special teams units. Last year, he handled all long-snapping duties for both the punt and place-kick teams. This year Pace is specializing in long-snapping responsibilities for just the punt team. Northwestern currently ranks 26th nationally in net punting average.
Weina plays a backup role at cornerback and also plays on NU's special teams units. He has appeared in 11 career games, including all three games in 2010. Last year against nationally ranked Penn State, Weina earned his first career start. He finished that game with a career-best five tackles and one pass breakup.
Struckmeyer has proved to be a valuable scout team performer throughout his career. He has played in three career games, but his biggest contributions have come on the practice field. Since Struckmeyer joined the program in 2007, he has never sat out a practice.
In the last 12 years, Northwestern has awarded 31 full athletic scholarships to walk-ons. Several of those players have gone on to earn All-Big Ten or Academic All-America honors. Wide receiver Zeke Markshausen, who finished last season with 91 receptions and was named an All-Big Ten wideout and a first-team Academic All-American, is one example of a walk-on success story at Northwestern.
With the addition of these three new scholarship student-athletes, Northwestern currently has six players on its 2010 roster who were former walk-ons.
