Alabama Walk-On OL Graham Roten has been Placed on Scholarship for the Crimson Tide – Tide 100.9
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Walk-on athletes earning scholarships are some of the best videos in sports.
The Alabama Crimson Tide recently awarded walk-on offensive lineman Graham Roten a scholarship, putting him on scholarship for his redshirt senior season for the Crimson Tide. Alabama partnered with 68 Ventures to create a new scholarship.
Yea Alabama, the Crimson Tide's NIL collective, announced the news on Friday. 68 Ventures, the company Alabama partnered with to award the scholarship, operates along the Gulf Coast, focusing on development and construction. The company's founder, Nathan Cox, helped Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer present the scholarship to Roten.
“I know this has been on Nathan’s heart here for quite a while,” DeBoer said. "We’ve been talking about this and swapping emails. He’s put a lot into what he wanted in this 'scholarship,' we’re going to call it. This 68 Ventures support for one of you walk-ons, including everything that a scholarship player would have – room and board, tuition, books, fees, all of it.
“So this year, the scholarship is going to go to Graham Roten," DeBoer announced.
After the cheers subsided, Cox explained why Roten was the first to receive the new scholarship.
"So I'm at practice this spring and I've got my 68 Ventures hat on," Cox told the team in the meeting room. "I'm standing there, and this guy comes up to me and says, 'Sir, are you Nathan Cox?' I was like 'Yeah, man.' [Roten] was like 'Oh, I'm Graham, I've heard about you, I'm in the business school, coaches have talked about you. Let me tell you what I want to do as soon as I get done with football.' He starts talking about business, and I'm like, 'Great, man, that's awesome.'
"So I start talking to coach [DeBoer] about doing this scholarship, and he goes, 'Man, we've got the perfect kid. His name is Graham.' And I was like, 'Man, that's the only [player] that came up and talked to me. He's going to be glad he said hello."
Cox then turned his attention to Roten.
"You embody everything I do. Same with everyone I'm associated with. I can relate to a lot of your story. Super, super proud of you. I know these guys are happy for you, and you made me tear up."
Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
Gallery Credit: Wyatt Fulton
