The emotional moment a University of Texas football player was surprised with a scholarship has gone viral.
Garrett Graf is a 6’2″, 285-pound lineman who got the fantastic news from a magic hat.
In the video, the football team is watching a magic show while Graf is on stage.
The magician pulls a card out of a hat and delivers the surprise news to the lineman, who is going into his senior year.
Garrett Graf was surprised to receive a scholarship for his senior year at University of Texas
The whole football team was watching a magic show as the magician pulled the good news out of a hat. Everyone went wild and Graf, clearly emotional, had his head in his hands
The whole team huddled around Graf as he thanked his peers and his coach
Typically players that are recruited for a team are awarded scholarships. But as a walk-on, Graf had to beat the odds with hard work and perseverance.
‘When you say model teammate, you look that up, you find Garrett Graf’s picture,’ said UT head football coach Tom Herman.
The University of Texas players were in a team building meeting and watched the whole thing unfold.
At first, the magician started by poking fun at Graf. ‘I like this. Genetically, you are the school colors. This is great.’ He was referring to the school’s red and white colors, and Graf’s red hair.
The magician then goes over to his magic hat and pulls a card out as everyone goes wild and Graf puts his head in his hands.
Clearly emotional, Graf is surrounded by his team cheering him on.
The lineman makes a speech to his teammates and coaches in the video.
‘I appreciate this more than you can possibly imagine,’ he says. ‘This has been a childhood dream of mine to be here, and to experience this, it’s unbelievable so thank you guys, thank you coach.’
Garrett Graff was a walk-on, meaning he wasn’t recruited to play football
Typically, only recruited players are awarded scholarships to play football
UT head football coach Tom Herman said, ‘When you say model teammate, you look that up, you find Garrett Graf’s picture’
The 285-pound lineman told his team and coach, ‘I appreciated this more than you can possibly imagine’