SE: Barry's Career Comes 'Full Circle' When Awarded Scholarship
Sep 05, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
Brogan Barry's first play in a K-State uniform — on September 5, 2015 — ended with Morgan Burns taking the season-opening kickoff 100 yards to the house. Barry, who walked on at K-State in 2013, lives for these types of moments.
"That was just a huge adrenaline rush," he said. "Special teams is crazy most of the time. It's controlled chaos."
On August 22, during a practice that seemed no different than any other, Barry thought he was about to experience a forgettable moment.
Working in a punt return drill, the fifth-year senior said he had a "bad rep" and "kind of screwed it up." Sean Snyder, K-State's associate head coach/special teams coordinator, promptly called Barry over to have a word.
"Alright, here we go, probably not good news," Barry recalled thinking at the time.
As it turned out, it was not good news. It was great news.
"He told me, 'If you haven't already, you need to go down and fill out some paperwork for a scholarship,'" Barry said. "I was, like, 'Really? Are you serious?' He goes, 'Yep.' I hugged him and jumped up in the air. I had a bunch of guys around me who hugged me and celebrated with me.
"It's a feeling that you really can't describe."
During his four years as a walk-on, Barry encountered plenty of doubt but he never changed course.
"There have been a ton of moments where I was thinking, 'Is this worth it for me? Should I keep on doing this? Should I focus on my school?'" Barry said. "But I would always go back to my support system of my parents, hash it out with them and by the time that we had talked about it, I realized how special this was to me and how much I wanted to keep going. I ended up staying and it was the best decision I ever made."
Barry, who graduated in May with a degree in biology/pre-med, may have dreamed about earning a scholarship as a freshman out of Topeka, where he was an all-state performer for Hayden, but he entered his senior season at K-State with "zero percent" expectation of receiving one.
"I was kind of ready for the season to start and it just really hit me by surprise. I had absolutely no idea that it was coming, so that made it even better," said Barry, K-State's back-up free safety who recorded 10 special team tackles the last two seasons. "It really felt like my experience here had come full circle. When you come here as a walk-on, it's really that moment that you always dream about and really are working for every single day, and as soon as it happened, it was just really fulfilling."
Like every walk-on who earned a scholarship, Barry did not do it by himself. He had teammates he leaned on, looked up to and watched closely. Players like Ty Zimmerman (2010-13), Weston Hiebert (2010-14) and David Smith (2010-14), along with current teammates like Trent Tanking and Davis Clark, all impacted Barry in a positive way.
"There's just so many great people that I've looked up to in my time here," said Barry, who has taken on the same role for some of K-State's younger walk-ons. "I try to give them the best advice that I can. I just tell them to keep on working hard because their hard work will be rewarded."
The rewards of earning a scholarship, Barry said, go beyond the financial relief, too.
"When I look back on when I first got here, I was just a kid," he said. "The man I've become because of Coach Snyder's program has really been a neat experience to see."
Ironically, Barry has experienced it all playing for the rival of his childhood team.
"My mom is a KU alum, so I bled crimson and blue pretty hard growing up. We had season tickets for football and basketball, so I grew up in Allen Fieldhouse instead of Bill Snyder Family Stadium," he said. "It was definitely a culture adjustment for me but I've really bought in and I bleed purple now. I'm really, really happy to be here and I love Manhattan. It's my second home and I've never had a better experience than my four-and-a-half years here."
"That was just a huge adrenaline rush," he said. "Special teams is crazy most of the time. It's controlled chaos."
On August 22, during a practice that seemed no different than any other, Barry thought he was about to experience a forgettable moment.
Working in a punt return drill, the fifth-year senior said he had a "bad rep" and "kind of screwed it up." Sean Snyder, K-State's associate head coach/special teams coordinator, promptly called Barry over to have a word.
"Alright, here we go, probably not good news," Barry recalled thinking at the time.
As it turned out, it was not good news. It was great news.
"He told me, 'If you haven't already, you need to go down and fill out some paperwork for a scholarship,'" Barry said. "I was, like, 'Really? Are you serious?' He goes, 'Yep.' I hugged him and jumped up in the air. I had a bunch of guys around me who hugged me and celebrated with me.
"It's a feeling that you really can't describe."
During his four years as a walk-on, Barry encountered plenty of doubt but he never changed course.
"There have been a ton of moments where I was thinking, 'Is this worth it for me? Should I keep on doing this? Should I focus on my school?'" Barry said. "But I would always go back to my support system of my parents, hash it out with them and by the time that we had talked about it, I realized how special this was to me and how much I wanted to keep going. I ended up staying and it was the best decision I ever made."
Barry, who graduated in May with a degree in biology/pre-med, may have dreamed about earning a scholarship as a freshman out of Topeka, where he was an all-state performer for Hayden, but he entered his senior season at K-State with "zero percent" expectation of receiving one.
"I was kind of ready for the season to start and it just really hit me by surprise. I had absolutely no idea that it was coming, so that made it even better," said Barry, K-State's back-up free safety who recorded 10 special team tackles the last two seasons. "It really felt like my experience here had come full circle. When you come here as a walk-on, it's really that moment that you always dream about and really are working for every single day, and as soon as it happened, it was just really fulfilling."
Like every walk-on who earned a scholarship, Barry did not do it by himself. He had teammates he leaned on, looked up to and watched closely. Players like Ty Zimmerman (2010-13), Weston Hiebert (2010-14) and David Smith (2010-14), along with current teammates like Trent Tanking and Davis Clark, all impacted Barry in a positive way.
"There's just so many great people that I've looked up to in my time here," said Barry, who has taken on the same role for some of K-State's younger walk-ons. "I try to give them the best advice that I can. I just tell them to keep on working hard because their hard work will be rewarded."
The rewards of earning a scholarship, Barry said, go beyond the financial relief, too.
"When I look back on when I first got here, I was just a kid," he said. "The man I've become because of Coach Snyder's program has really been a neat experience to see."
Ironically, Barry has experienced it all playing for the rival of his childhood team.
"My mom is a KU alum, so I bled crimson and blue pretty hard growing up. We had season tickets for football and basketball, so I grew up in Allen Fieldhouse instead of Bill Snyder Family Stadium," he said. "It was definitely a culture adjustment for me but I've really bought in and I bleed purple now. I'm really, really happy to be here and I love Manhattan. It's my second home and I've never had a better experience than my four-and-a-half years here."
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