Webster Grateful for Opportunity

We all love those moments where a walk-on earns a scholarship. This week, that person was senior wide receiver Austin Webster, who walked onto the team as a young freshman and is now a scholarship player.

“You can guess what that moment meant,” said Webster. “All the hard work put in all those years, the moment was unreal.”

And it was clear that Webster was not expecting the moment to come, he was very surprised.

“It was an absolute surprise,” Webster commented. “Obviously, any of us walk ons, you hope every day to get to that goal, but did I expect that day? No, it was a complete surprise.”

It’s that hope that drives the walk on players to work so hard, to attend all those practices, to “do the dirty jobs,” but it is not always easy. Even Webster had doubts and questions along the way.

“I can’t say that there was ever a time that I ever thought this was not for me, but there are definitely times that you are struggling and the path is difficult.,” Webster emphasized. There are definitely times were I reflect and call my parents and say, ‘this is really hard’, but it was never something I wanted to walk away from. You just ask yourself what could I do more to show the coaches that I deserve to be here. So, you know, there have definitely been difficult times, but I have loved Notre Dame my entire life, and so this is a dream come true to come here and to have a scholarship is icing on the cake.”

But the journey doesn't end here for Webster. According to him, the team still has a lot to accomplish.

“Well the next goal, which is the team goal, is to graduate all our players and win a national championship,” Webster stated. “Anything I can do to help get to that goal is obviously the priority.”

It is clear that Webster has his priorities in the right place and is ready to give his all to this year’s team. But in that moment of earning a scholarship to play on Notre Dame’s football team, he had to, of course, call his Mom. Webster talked about his first call with his Mom.

“Mom for sure,” said Webster with a big smile. “It was kind of funny because we had to go straight through a walk through and so there was a 45-minute period where I couldn’t have my phone. I thought she was going to find out before I got a chance to call her, but I was lucky, she was busy. Both my mom and dad were ecstatic and thrilled.”

The share his joy with his parents wasn’t lost on Webster.

“Just typical stuff, trying to keep it cool,” explained Webster. “Then eventually telling her: ‘hey you know mom, you don’t have to pay for my tuition next year because I got a scholarship.’ She was just so happy and started crying and bawling because your parents know what you had to go through to get to this moment, so for them, it was a relief that I accomplished what I wanted to do here. For them, it was really emotional, but it was really cool to tell them.”

While calling his parents was cool, Webster stated that the team mobbing him was probably the best part for him.

“That’s probably the best part for me, that my teammates support me so much,” stated Webster. “I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without my teammates here. They don’t care whether you’re a walk on, scholarship, on the bench. We are all one team, and we all work towards a common goal. To see one of their brothers get something that he has been working for a long time, it’s awesome to see their reaction.”

And now, the team needs him to lead as a captain and as a scholarship player, which of course he is prepared and excited to do.

“I think both are just unbelievable honors and both have their roles,” said Webster. “I think the captainship was something that I was happy to get for the spring to help lead these guys in getting back in shape for this upcoming season, while the scholarship is a reaffirmation that I have been helping this team throughout the years. “In terms of which one is better, they are both just amazing, and I am so blessed.”