Division I college football is a huge marketing machine.

We live in an age when grit and desire on the football field go hand-in-hand with corporate sponsorship, public relations and campaigns with money as the ultimate goal—not the end zone.

Those campaigns at Iowa State have been tremendously successful as of late, giving birth to a fresh scent of football excitement where once there was none.

That’s nice.

And, many would argue, it’s been a long time in coming.

Many would argue still that there’s a danger in getting too good at running the machine.

It’s all too easy to turn the game — a contest of will, of tenacity, of blood, of sweat, of tears and of all things that embody competition — into a show.

But, though the danger is still there, Head Coach Dan McCarney and company showed last week they aren’t yet altogether beholden to the almighty dollar.

In giving scholarships to four walk-on players, the men pounding the Jack Trice dirt said sheer drive and plain-old hard work still make you a winner on the football field.

These four players — Gerrick Bivins, Tom Radke, Matt Rysavy and Chris Brunsvold — will likely never be superstars.

Barring injury, they will likely never be the heroes of a big win or even start a game.

“They are all very accountable in the classroom. You can really trust these students. I would take them into any home with me on recruiting trips,” McCarney said.

And in paying for the education of four, McCarney also said that grit and desire really do still matter.

As well they should.