While basketball player Jeff Hornacek’s success story is still being written, some Iowa State students are following along the same path, going through the difficult, humbling, rewarding experience of walking on.

Hornacek was unheralded, undersized and a step slow. Having no athletic scholarship, he walked onto Iowa State’s basketball team in the mid-1980s. He now plays professionally for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association, making $2.12 million per year.

However, Hornacek is the exception, not the rule. For every Jeff Hornacek, there are hundreds who never try out, hundreds more who don’t make the team and hundreds more who quit or are cut.

There are also people like Doug Easley and Michelle Jensen, two current ISU athletes in the process of writing their own success stories. They have chosen to walk on, to attempt to join a varsity-level college athletic team, without being recruited or offered a scholarship.

As a freshman, Easley walked onto ISU’s football team but was ineligible for one year after transferring from a college in Nebraska. As a sophomore, he was involved in only four plays under former coach Jim Walden.

This year as a junior under Dan McCarney, he was awarded a scholarship, became a starter on the team’s offensive line, and helped pave the way for many of tailback Troy Davis’ 2,010 yards.

To listen to recruiting coordinator Bob Krosky, it would seem Easley is a success because he fits the mold and has the right attitude.

“The main reason for a walk-on to be here is to get an education.” Krosky said.

Easley, a sociology major, wanted to come to school at Iowa State, and wasn’t sure whether he would play football until his roommate, Dennis Dibiase, decided to try out.

Jensen, a redshirt freshman who walked onto ISU’s basketball team last year, is also first a student. She came to Iowa State to major in chemical engineering, and carries a G.P.A. of 3.5, despite juggling sports with classes.

“With my major, a lot of my classes are in the afternoon,” Jensen said, “so it’s hard to schedule my classes around my practice, then to actually sit down and get some homework done.”

Playing sports in college requires a substantial time commitment, with or without a scholarship.

“The NCAA allots time for practice, but it seems like you’re always running over there,” Easley said. “You lift weights in the morning and between classes, and you watch film, and it seems like you end up spending your whole day.”

Jensen agreed. “It’s probably at least three hours a day. That’s probably the minimum.”

Krosky said walk-ons have the same privileges and opportunities as scholarship players.

“They get the weight room, the equipment room, and the training room. We love walk-ons,” Krosky said.

However, Easley said there are differences.

“I think on the field we get the same treatments,” Easley said. “But we don’t really get the training table as often, and that makes a big difference .”

Jensen said there are differences, but that there are reasons for it.

“I think maybe there’s a little bit of a lack of respect,” Jensen said, “Just because you’re probably not as good as that person, otherwise you would have a scholarship too. At least they don’t think so.”

Jensen said coaches sometimes spend more time with scholarship players. “Certain times, like before big games, but I can see why,” she said. “It’s not anything unreasonable.”

Easley also pointed out that opportunities for walk-ons depend greatly upon who is coaching the team, and it helped him a great deal when Dan McCarney took over for Jim Walden this season.

“There’s a big difference between coaches,” Easley said. “Coach McCarney is a real player’s coach. He knows everybody’s name, knows about everybody on the team and pays attention to the progress we make in the weight room and on the field. He really wants to be a part of everything. Another guy who has really helped me is Steve Loney, our offensive line coach.”

Easley is one of several walk-ons who have helped the team improve from 0-10-1 in Walden’s final season to 3 -8 in McCarney’s first. Jensen is one of three walk-ons on a team, which has started off 5-0.

A coach is not the only thing that can hold back a walk-on athlete. The biggest hurdle many students have to overcome is paying for college, an expensive proposition.

Jensen receives some money from academic scholarships, but she said most of her bills are paid by her parents.

Easley and Jensen both said working part-time to pay for school would be nearly impossible. Scholarship athletes are not allowed to work while school is in session, but even walk-ons normally cannot manage it.

“There’s no time,” Easley said. “It’s hard enough juggling schoolwork and football, but if you had to have a job and play football, it would be really tough to do.”

Easley’s Cyclone football career has not been without its kinks. He admitted he had considered giving up.

“There were some points where l thought about it,” Easley said. “Obviously not that seriously, because I’m still here, but I’m sure there are days when everyone gets frustrated.”

The temptation to call it quits nearly found Jensen as well.

“Even though I like it, sometimes I think, ‘Is this ever going to pay off?'” she said. “You think about quitting, but it’s not really an option. I know I’ll be happier in the long run if I stick with it.”

Jensen also considered transferring to a smaller school in her home state of Nebraska, but when she injured her knee and was out for seven months following surgery, she changed her mind.

“I figured if I couldn’t play basketball I didn’t want to go to that school,” Jensen said.

While Jensen had to fight through a knee injury, Easley was attempting to join a team with very high standards.

Krosky said every football walk-on also needs a letter of recommendation from his high school coach stating that he can compete at the Big 12 level or become a role player on the team.

As simple as that may sound, Krosky said not everyone fits that description.

“Name a league on earth that’s better than us,” Krosky said. “The NFL. Maybe the Southeast Conference. Definitely not the Big Ten. You really have to be able and ready to play.”

However, Easley’s position is a common one for walk-ons to make an impact.

“We get a lot of offensive linemen as walk-ons,” Krosky said. “Mostly offensive players and very few cornerbacks and defensive linemen, because those are real skill positions. That’s just pure speed.”

Why students go through the grind of walking on is a common question, but Jensen said retiring from basketball after high school would not have been acceptable.

“I’m really glad this is something I’ve done,” Jensen said. “I’m getting to do what I love to do.”