When Stephen Nelson graduated from Beaverton High school in Beaverton Ore., in 2010, he was completely overlooked by college scouts.

After being passed over by countless programs, Nelson found himself at SMU trying to make the football team. As an uninvited walk-on, Nelson was not allowed to practice with the team at first.

According to “the Legend of Stephen Nelson” as told by a number of SMU beat writers, who have known Nelson since his freshman year, Nelson showed up to practices anyway.

He could be seen every morning, sitting along the concrete walls that line SMU’s practice fields with a notebook in his lap and a pen in his hand.

Nelson kept notes of every single practice; listening to what head Coach June Jones said to the players, noting where receivers lined up and what their routes were on any given play.

By the time Nelson was allowed to practice with the team, his notebook was filled with the most organized and detailed notes of the SMU offense and because of this he was able to jump right in with the other receivers.

As the legend goes, Nelson studied the offense so much that when he could finally practice he knew every position and every route of every play better than most of the starters.

“Probably 10 percent of that is true,” a laughing Nelson said. “I wouldn’t say that my notes were perfectly written. It’s funny that that’s what the rumor is. You know, it’s kind of hard to take notes when Coach Jones is on the field and is just talking through it. I still have [the notes] by the way and I look back over them and I’m like man, I was really trying.”

To Nelson, taking notes wasn’t even a decision for him – he just did it. He knew that if he worked hard enough he’d get his shot and he wanted to be as prepared for that day as he possibly could.

“It was just a culmination of how I was raised and how I was approaching coming here as a walk-on,” he said. “I knew that if the coaches knew I was working hard and put in effort then maybe there would be a slight chance that it would happen.”
In Nelson’s first year with Mustangs he appeared in just three games and made no catches. That summer he worked even harder to come back and carve a spot for himself in the offense, but he injured his foot and was redshirted.

So Nelson worked some more in hopes that his sophomore year would be the year he showed everyone what he could do.

He appeared in two games in 2012 and made no catches. So, that summer, Nelson did what Nelson does best: and that’s work.

In 2013, Nelson saw time in 11 games and made three starts. However, SMU had a dangerous trio of receivers in Jeremy Johnson, Darius Joseph and Keenan Holman, who combined for over 2,957 of SMU’s yards and 282 of the Mustangs’ receptions. As a result, Nelson made only 13 catches for 111 yards.

Then came the turning point- last spring. Jones announced that Nelson would be put on scholarship for his senior season.

“That’s was kind of a culmination of five years of hard work,” Nelson said. “That was definitely my proudest moment. It was a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid, to be a Division I scholarship athlete. And that was a fun phone call- getting to call my dad and tell him that I got put on scholarship. That was awesome.”

Since Jones’ announcement, Nelson has worked his way ahead of a bunch of talented receivers and into the starting lineup. After five years of summer workouts, tough practices and long seasons, he is finally getting his shot.
One would think that after working so hard for something and finally achieving it, Nelson would take it easier on himself, but for him, his work doesn’t stop simply because he is in the first team huddle.

“I still try to look at everything with the mindset of a walk-on – I still have to go and earn it,” Nelson said. “There are still three guys behind me that want my job and I have to protect it and I have to perform during practice and especially on Saturdays. Even though you move up in the depth chart, that mentality never leaves you.”
During training camp this summer, all of Nelson’s hard work came to light – It didn’t matter who was covering him or where the ball was thrown, if he could put a hand on it, he was making the catch. Nelson said it is all due to wide receiver Coach Jason Phillips’ challenge to the receivers this summer.

“Believe it or not, Coach Phillips challenged us to catch 15, 000 balls this summer… so that’s 300 balls a day and we did it,” Nelson said. “So like I said, it just goes back to the work that we’ve put in and it’s paying off- not just for me but for the
whole team.”

Nelson knows that there are a lot of talented receivers around him that are bigger, stronger and faster than him. So, he does his best to constantly work harder and stay hungrier than them.

“You know, we have such phenomenal receivers around me – they are amazing players and amazing athletes, but I’ll let you know that given my opportunity, I can make as many plays as anyone else out there,” he said.

One of the biggest advantages that Nelson has over his teammates is his versatility. Jones can line him up anywhere on offense and trust that Nelson knows what to do, and that’s because over the course of five years, Nelson has learned every single wide receiver spot in Jones’ offense scheme.

“I started out as an ‘X’ and that’s when the receivers coach put me out there and I would just sit in receiver’s meetings everyday just trying to learn,” Nelson said. “Just over time I’m sitting in meetings, hearing the coaching points of both positions and a couple years down the road coach Phillips says, ‘Hey Stevie, can you play slot?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ So, you just learn it and then go do it – just being available for wherever they need me, if they need a guy in slot I can jump in there. If they need a guy on the outside then I can go there.”

Nelson’s journey hasn’t been an easy one. As a walk-on, you aren’t treated the same as the high profile recruits and transfers. If a walk-on makes the team and contributes, great. If he doesn’t – oh well, he was just a walk-on anyway.
Stephen Nelson lasted five years. He fought tooth and nail for four years and finally he has a starting job in Jones’ offense.

“The life of a walk-on is tough, because no one is making you get up in the morning and do these things,” Nelson said. “So, yeah, it was tough, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”