Real Life Rudy! College Football Walk-On Scores Winning Touchdown And Applebee’s Stardom

Kansas Jayhawks fullback Jared Casey’s football story would be too unbelievable even for Hollywood. A walk-on who hadn’t even played offense once just scored the game-winning touchdown for Kansas to beat Texas, ending a historic losing streak and instantly vaulting Casey into college football legend status and Applebee’s stardom.

Watch Jared Casey’s parents react to the touchdown:

With college football’s new rules allowing players to earn money from endorsement deals, the Plainville native signed a lucrative deal with Applebee’s!

Watch Jared Casey’s Applebee’s Commercial

Via the Kansas City Star:

For his role, Casey said he received $800 in cash and $1,000 in Applebee’s gift cards. He said he planned to take his KU teammates to the restaurant soon to use up some of his comps.

“Hey, you always gotta go for two **WINK**” 

What a star! Congrats to Jared Casey

Related: Packed College Football Stadiums Trigger Fauci, Erupt With Anti-Biden Chants

The Significance of Kansas Beating Texas 

Kansas football is a perennial football whipping boy for the Big 12 conference. Before defeating Texas in Austin, the Kansas Jayhawks were in the midst of multiple losing streaks.

• 8 game losing streak 
• 18 Big 12 conference losing streak
• 20 game losing streak against FBS opponents 
• 56 game losing streak on the road in the Big 12 

It was also Kansas’ first win against Texas in Austin ever. In their entire history, Kansas had only defeated Texas four times. The last win was in 2016 and the previous one to that was in 1938.

Kansas Jayhawks football is in their first year under coach Lance Leipold, hired after Kansas dismissed former LSU coach Les Miles. Before Kansas, Leipold enjoyed success at Buffalo and at the Division III University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

In 8 years as head coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater Leipold’s record was 109-6 with 6 national champions in 7 appearances in the Division III national championship game. 

Should College Football Players like Jared Casey Be Paid?

Yes, in my opinion. The idea that college football is “amateur” sports is antiquated.

NCAA Division I FBS is a BILLION dollar industry. Schools make untold sums of money. At the very least kids should be allowed to profit off their image and fame, especially in a sport like a football.

With the earning window so small, student-athletes need to be able to make as money off their skill as they can. Sure they’re getting a free education, but that comes on the back of hours of work, practice, and sacrifices of your body and time. 

I love college football and I am so glad players like Kansas Jayhawks newest star Jared Casey can finally get endorsement deals.

Let’s be real, schools have been paying players for as long as the game has been played. The new NCAA rules just remove the veil.