TAMPA -- The resemblance, from their names to their statures to their facial features, is striking.

Five-foot-10 USF receiver Sean Atkins is a dead ringer for Sean Astin, the diminutive actor who portrayed the most famous walk-on in college football lore, Notre Dame's Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger. Like Rudy, Atkins also arrived at his school as a walk-on with minimal opportunities for playing time. In his inaugural season, he caught one pass for 1 yard.

But he ultimately paved a somewhat parallel universe with Ruettiger. A couple of generations after Rudy was carried off the field by teammates after recording a sack in his only game in an Irish uniform, Atkins set USF season records for catches (92) and receiving yards (1,054).

"I feel like a lot of people like myself were under-recruited coming out of high school," said Atkins, who finally was awarded a scholarship entering his third year in the program. "And (a walk-on opportunity) kind of just gives you the ability to showcase what you have."

Now, those opportunities may become as obsolete as the wing-T offense.

The landmark House vs. NCAA antitrust lawsuit will eliminate caps on scholarships in certain sports but also will put a limit on roster sizes. Currently, Football Bowl Subdivision programs are allowed 85 scholarships and up to 120 players on their roster during the season. The roster cap for football moves to 105 for the 2025-26 school year.

Moreover, football becomes an equivalency sport, meaning -- like baseball -- scholarships can be split up. While most players will receive full scholarships, others can be awarded partial ones.

"Amongst coaches, it's probably been the biggest topic of debate," Florida coach Billy Napier said. "I think we ultimately were entering uncharted waters to some degree."

So, while more players will be afforded scholarship opportunities, walk-ons essentially will vanish at most schools. So will some of the sport's most stirring stories. While Rudy is the most well-known walk-on tale, it's hardly alone; social media annually is rife with video clips of a coach awarding a resilient walk-on a scholarship in a team meeting, eliciting a roar from peers.

"I think that's just, like, a weird kind of rule (coming) into play," Atkins said. "I feel like it counts a lot of people out."

Generally, the roster amendments have been met with resistance -- ranging from passive to passionate -- from college football coaches. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was a walk-on (at Alabama). So was former Gators and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp (at Georgia).

NFL stars who began their college careers as walk-ons include Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews.

"I don't think anybody really cares what my opinion on it is, but there are going to be a bunch of guys that don't have a home," USF coach Alex Golesh said. "Part of college football is the stories. ... Man, those stories are special."

Once the legislation kicks in, those heartwarming stories will be supplanted by headaches.

Reduced roster sizes coincide with an expanded College Football Playoff, when some teams could play as many as 17 games, creating potential depth concerns down the stretch. Say all your tight ends go down -- there's no one to pluck from the walk-on pool.

"It's frustrating," Swinney said at the recent ACC Football Kickoff, "because we're going to play more games than we've ever played, practice more than we've ever practiced, and we'll have the smallest roster we've ever had."

And while teams in the Power Four can afford to finance 20 more football scholarships annually, some in the Group of Five might not, widening the disparity between the sport's haves and have-nots. Managing 105 scholarship athletes also could be unwieldy; those not logging any playing time might choose to move on, further clogging an already oversaturated NCAA transfer portal.

High school players might not see a boon in opportunities, either. Conventional thinking is, those extra scholarships likely will go to players in the portal.

"I can't imagine suddenly everyone is going to take 20 more high school players," Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said.

And what about the USFs of the world? A player who might project as a significant contributor for the Bulls instead might choose a second- or third-string role at a Power Four program with an abundance of scholarships and possibly greater name, image and likeness revenue.

"I think it's going to put a lot of pressure on personnel departments, recruiting departments and certainly coaches to evaluate right," Golesh said.

But at the core of this new era is the concept of the walk-on, which fades into college football oblivion. Alas, another cherished piece of the sport's fabric -- like the Pac-12, the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry, the SEC on CBS -- is being torn away.

"It kind of bothers me, honestly, because that's kind of my makeup," Atkins said. "That's who I am."

Contact Joey Knight at [email protected]. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls

In ascending order, we ranked the 10 greatest walk-ons in Florida college football history:

10. LS Ryan Benjamin, USF (1997-2000)

Former River Ridge High standout ultimately became long snapper on Bucs' first Super Bowl team

9. RB Greg McCrae, UCF (2017-2020)

This Canadian Football League tailback owns Knights career record for yards per carry (6.45)

Miami native evolved into second-team All-ACC pick, played two seasons with Bucs

6. WR Sean Atkins, USF (2019-present)

Unassuming speedster set USF season records in catches (92), receiving yards (1,054) in 2023

5. WR Chris Doering, Florida (1991-1995)

Gainesville native became first-team All-SEC pick, set UF career record with 31 touchdown catches

4. S Louis Oliver, Florida (1985-1988)

Belle Glade native became first-team All-American, first-round NFL draftee

3. QB Kerwin Bell, Florida (1983-1987)

Rural north Florida native evolved into SEC Player of the Year in 1984

2. DE Andre Wadsworth, FSU (1994-1997)

Recruited by one school, Wadsworth was named ACC Player of the Year in 1997, drafted No. 3 overall

1. WR Santana Moss, Miami (1997-2000)

Eventual Pro Bowler set UM career records in receiving yards (2,546) and all-purpose yards (4,394)

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