In an interview with the League Winners, walk-on FAU linebacker Makai Sawtelle spoke about the journey he has gone on throughout his career.
The life of a walk-on, especially in football, can be highly challenging.
All of the standard tasks of a normal student-athlete are still required. One needs to perform at a high level on the field while also striving for academic success off the field. It requires upper-tier time-management skills and a level of responsibility that is greater than a normal student.
However, one significant difference exists between a walk-on and a scholarship player. Whereas the scholarship player has some leeway and commitment from the coaching staff, a walk-on does not. A walk-on has no room for error, meaning they can never ease up at practice. They cannot ever take their foot off the gas pedal and have to constantly grind to give themself the best opportunity to stick on a roster.
At FAU, linebacker Makai Sawtelle embodies the walk-on mentality. After a long journey that included various setbacks, his efforts paid off in the form of a full scholarship from the Owls. It is the best type of sports story, with a storybook ending as a result of his hard work.
In an exclusive interview, I got to ask the linebacker about his journey, mentality, and other aspects of being a walk-on. For the underdogs in sports and life in general, this is the type of story that can have the power to inspire and push people to be their best.
Interview with FAU LB Makai Sawtelle
When it comes to his overall journey, Sawtelle is simply proud of all of the work he has put in.
“My favorite part of my journey has been knowing and seeing how all of the hard work I put in over the past couple of years has panned out to something as memorable as this. There were ups and downs, clearly, throughout my time at FAU. But putting all of the work in and seeing how it comes out has really been special to me.”
This connects to how Makai Sawtelle values FAU; he mentioned the people around him and the close proximity to home as two reasons why the school was the best for him.
“I have had the support of my family throughout this entire process. Emotionally, having them help me out and walk me through step-by-step every day whatever comes my way. Calling my parents, brothers, sisters, and talking things over with them. Seeing their points of view and looking at mine, because if you only have one view of things, it does not give you the whole picture. So I like to get other people’s opinions on different aspects,” said Sawtelle.
“Overall, the environment at FAU is just one that I did not find it anywhere else. I took a lot of visits to places, and I did not feel like they had the same “homey” vibe as FAU. The coaches that were here and the players that are still here around me have really been great support to me.”
Arguably, the most crucial aspect for any football player, let alone a walk-on, is their mentality. Sawtelle said that his mentality has been one of “never giving up,” regardless of the circumstances.
“I was raised that once you start something, you have to finish it. Once you quit at one thing, you quit at everything the rest of your life. There have been times when it has just been overbearing. Just going through the day-by-day process of being a walk-on, going through an injury, going through a setback, going through something every year. It definitely takes a toll, but in the back of my head, I said I will never quit.
I love this sport; this is the way I got to college. This is why I still wake up in the morning and I still go and do my business. I do my school, my football, my academics. I have a routine now. Football has been around my whole life; I saw my older brother play all the way through college, and I knew this was what I wanted to do. Nothing was going to hold me back; no matter what happened to me, I was going to come back and keep striving for what I wanted.”
This mentality has helped Sawtelle in life, as he said the mentality he used as a walk-on and player helps him “push through anything” he is presented in life.
“If you can make it through practice and make it through classes, then there is nothing really harder than that. Obviously, there are minor things that can get in your way and cloud your mind, but as long as you focus on the main goal and take it one day at a time, there is nothing that you can’t do. Too many people try to focus too much on the big picture; you have to take it one step at a time,” said Sawtelle.
“I gotta make it through today, the week, the month, the year. You have to go methodically, and that’s how you set it up. It’s little victories, and you have to take your time with it. It’s not something you can rush; people try to skip to the end, and they do not want to take their time. In between is where you find the little things that help you out.”
The linebacker’s mentality intertwines with his motivation, as he said it is an internal one to be the best player possible.
“It was just personal. All of my siblings, they had scholarships coming out of high school and going into their college sports. I didn’t, and that really stuck with me. It made me drive even more to get up to that; I felt like I needed to be up to their level, and I wasn’t there yet. So I feel like I needed to prove to myself, overall, that I deserve to be at the Division I level and where I am at on and off the field.”
This translates to Sawtelle’s play on the field; he said that every play could be your last and that he treats any football action as such.
“I went through a knee injury a couple of years ago, and then I was out for a whole year. I didn’t know if I could touch the field again. But you have to go one step at a time, one play at a time, and take your time with it. Embrace the possibility that anything can happen, and as a walk-on, you do not get too many opportunities. So when I got put in at any opportunity, whether it’s special teams or defense, I just took it as a game-winning rep.”
“This is a game rep for me; this is what I’m going to do if I ever get put into the game. It was the Super Bowl kind of thing for me. Whenever I was put in, I did the best job I could, and when my time was up, they took me out. I tried to go over it and figure out what I did; if I screwed up, figure out what I screwed up. If I did right, see what I did right. And then try to build off what I did with that rep.”
To close out the interview, Sawtelle responded to my question of what advice he would give to others in similar situations. What advice would he give to those striving to make teams as walk-ons?
“Don’t give up. Like I said, once you quit at one thing, you will keep quitting at everything. Quitting will be easy for the rest of your life. It’s definitely tough, and it’s definitely a struggle. But look at the people around you and look at the guys that are where you want to be. Take notes of what they are doing. I got notebooks full of different players ahead of me that have moved on to the NFL or in life,” said Sawtelle.
“I have taken notes, mental pictures, and mental reps of what they are doing right and wrong so I can do what they do right and not what they do wrong. A lot of people do not understand that you need to look at people in the position you want to be at. Take the time to understand how they got there and what they are doing to stay there. I focused on that, and I put all the distractions aside. Anything that was not football-related, I had to push out of the way, and I just focused on what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be. It took a long time, but the journey molded me into the player I am today I wouldn’t trade my journey for the world.”
Sawtelle’s path is an inspirational one. He did not have the easy road many college athletes have; instead, he had to scratch and claw for every inch of success he had experienced. It is one that should be commended whenever possible.
More importantly, though, Sawtelle’s journey should serve as a motivator for the underdog. Even when the odds are tough, hard work and perseverance can help farfetched goals become a reality. And for FAU linebacker Makai Sawtelle, that goal has now become a reality.
