Jeff Gettys is no longer a walk-on. He’s a full-fledged member of the Missouri football team.
Gettys’ gridiron dream came true Thursday when Tigers coach Gary Pinkel informed the Houston native that he was receiving a scholarship with the team. Gettys, who had already planned to come home this weekend to turkey hunt, shared the news with his family Friday evening.
Gettys, a 2006 HHS graduate, turned down multiple scholarship opportunities at smaller colleges to walk-on at Missouri. After a redshirt year with the scout team, Gettys made his way onto the field in last year’s season opener with the kickoff return team. His strong season on special teams, which included Jeremy Maclin’s kickoff return for a touchdown that broke a long dryspell at MU, earned Gettys the program’s “walk-on of the year” honors.
Gettys, who changed him uniform number from 53 to 35 this spring, has joined the field goal unit. He’s currently listed second at weakside linebacker on the Tigers’ depth chart.