Sidney Rhodes to play wide receiver after not being offered full scholarship at Western
The opportunity to play college football comes differently for many people. Some get to put on a hat on national TV and revel in the limelight that is National Signing Day. Others don’t get to experience the same glory. Sidney Rhodes probably doesn’t ring a bell when you think of South Carolina football, and he shoudln’t. He is a walk-on, and he came a long way just be where he is.
Rhodes played high school football in-state at Wren High School in Piedmont, S.C. Wren was never a power in South Carolina high school football until Rhodes’ senior year, when the Hurricanes won their first division title and went to the playoffs for the first time in 16 years.
However, despite Rhodes’ impressive numbers, colleges weren’t knocking on his door or even stuffing his mailbox. As matter of fact, they weren’t sending him anything.
“Kids like Sidney get overlooked for a number of reasons,” said Mike Johnson, head trainer at Velocity Sports Performance in Powdersville, S.C.. “Sometimes it’s the high school they go to, other times they get put in the wrong position for the better of their team.”
Rhodes and his father compiled 35 different highlight tapes and letters to send across the Southeast to schools where he thought he could play. He received two letters back.
After there was still no interest, he took an academic visit to Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C. While visiting with his dad, he got the chance to run by the athletics department and physically hand his highlight tape to WCU officials.
After some summer workouts, Rhodes walked on to Western Carolina’s practices, but he caught the eyes of coaches when he was competing for a starting spot, which got him some playing time in the first game against N.C. State.
“When Sidney first showed up, I had already known who he was from camp,” said WCU assistant coach Arketa Banks. “With most walk-ons, you just expect them to earn their keep. Sidney wasn’t like most walk-ons.”
It was another seven weeks before Rhodes got his opportunity to get his first start against Appalachian State. Starting running back Mike Johnson sat out for a kickoff. The coaches would gamble on Rhodes to return and hit the jackpot — sort of.
“The first kickoff I received I took all the way back untouched,” Rhodes said. “But it got called back because of a penalty. But from that game on, I guess the coaches had some confidence in me and I just kept doing it.”
From that game until the end of the season, Rhodes would handle all of the Catamounts’ return duties, and by the end of the season Rhodes would earn freshman All-SoCon honors at returner. Rhodes was hoping he had earned a full scholarship for his work on the field. Western Carolina had other things in mind.
“In the meeting with coach (Dennis) Wagner he told me they would offer me $2,500 as my scholarship money,” Rhodes said. “I took that as an insult. I know as a college player we play for peanuts more than anything, but I had thought I had proved myself worthy of a scholarship during the season.”
After not receiving a full scholarship, Rhodes decided Western Carolina wasn’t for him. During his winter break, he was busy filling out his paperwork to transfer to South Carolina.
“I sure miss having the opportunity to coach Sidney,” Banks said. “I learned a lot from him; I hope he learned a lot from me. If there is one thing for certain, Western Carolina lost one heck of a kid, and South Carolina picked up one hell of a football player.”
During the summer of 2011, Rhodes worked out every day. He attended specialized training sessions at Velocity Sports Performance run by Johnson. He knew Rhodes was headed for big things.
“I came in to see everyone working out when I saw Sidney and thought this kid had to be (Division-1) material,” Johnson said. “Even when I found out he was at Western I knew he had D-1 talent. He works hard and he is a true professional. Being a D-1 athlete isn’t all about talent and a lot of people don’t understand that.
After watching South Carolina win a school-record 11 games in 2011, Rhodes was hungrier than ever to make the Gamecock squad. Rhodes went through the process that all walk-ons complete at USC in the spring, attending the walk-on meeting and filling out all of the remaining papers he didn’t get to in the fall.
“With our walk-ons, we look for some natural ability and for them to just work hard,” said coach Jamie Speronis, director of football operations for South Carolina. “With Sidney, he definitely has some ability, and so far in practice he has done very well. I think he can really help this program.”
After all of the workouts were over and done with, Rhodes hurried to the Floyd building to check the list to see if he had made the cut. As Rhodes looked down the yellow sheet of paper, he eventually came across a familiar name written in black sharpie: “Sidney Rhodes.”
“If there’s one thing I can take away from all this, it’s that everything happens for a reason,” Rhodes said. “Just keeping your focus and, if your lucky, everything will fall into place.”