Utah State Walk-On Linebacker Eric Munoz Awarded Scholarship

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State linebacker Eric Munoz is no longer a walk-on for the Aggies. Head coach Gary Andersen awarded the redshirt junior a scholarship on Monday.

Like most coaches who hand out scholarships to their players during the season, they do it when it is least expected.

Andersen wasn’t any different. In their team meeting, he had slides on a projector about Munoz and winning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week after his performance in their win over Wyoming. The coach reminded his players that it wasn’t like that 14 or 15 days ago and that Munoz put the team in position to win a game that they had to have. On the next slide, it had a picture of Munoz celebrating with his teammates in the locker room after the game.

It said “walk-on linebacker” on the screen. Andersen then said “You know what happens next?” After he said that, a giant red x covers the walk-on label and is replaced by “scholarship.”

After that moment, the entire team erupted and piled on Munoz.

STUDENT-athlete Eric Munoz (Exercise Science Major, 3.2 GPA, Whitesides Scholar) is a walk-on NO MORE!! 👏👏👏#Scholarship#AggiesAllTheWay@EricMunoz21 @ESPNCFB pic.twitter.com/K23lxtLuxa

— USU Football (@USUFootball) November 19, 2019

In the win over Wyoming, Munoz finished with a career-high 13 tackles and two interceptions. His second pick clinched the win for the Aggies over the Cowboys. He was emotional after the game when talking to the media.

Eric Munoz finished with a team and career-high 13 tackles and 2 interceptions, including the game-clinching pick. After the games, Munoz detailed how special this game was for him. #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/mwfqUOTUzW

— Matthew L Glade (@matthewLksl) November 17, 2019

Munoz is a junior college transfer from San Diego Mesa Community College.

Utah State will host Boise State on Saturday at Maverik Stadium. The game will kickoff at 8:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.