Gophers walk-ons still hoping for scholarships

The Minnesota Golden Gophers' depth chart is filled with walk-on players, who aren't attending the university with a scholarship to play football. That doesn't mean that Minnesota's walk-ons aren't hoping to gain scholarship status, though.

Caleb Bak is one of Minnesota's walk-on players that is plays with a chip on his shoulder, as he looks to eventually claim one of Minnesota's scholarships.

"There's no doubt that you've got to play with a chip on your shoulder when you're a walk-on," said Bak, a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman who decided to stay at home after an All-Metro career at Concordia Academy. "There's a lot of people out there who don't think you can do it. In fact, when I came here, there were more people saying I couldn't do it than said I could."

Not that he would mind claiming one of the 85 scholarships Minnesota can bestow. "It's something I'm striving for. It'll come in time -- I'm not worried about it," Bak said.

Minnesota's walk-on players also include wide receiver A.J. Barker, as well as two special teams players in punter Christian Eldred and kicker Jordan Wettstein.