From pizza delivery to football scholarship, Trey Adkins shares story on national TV
Last week, Trey Adkins earned a scholarship on the South Carolina football team after four years as a walk-on.
On Wednesday, Adkins and Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer appeared on Fox and Friends to discuss Adkins’ journey, which included delivering pizzas at Marco’s to pay for his tuition.
“It was a dream come true,” Adkins said. “I was truly speechless and I was shocked. I had no idea. I was so grateful and blessed to be there. It was an incredible feeling.
“It changed my life completely. Coming out of high school, I had zero stars or offers or anything like that. To get an opportunity to come play here has been a blessing and enjoyed every minute of it.”
Beamer, who was hired in December, has talked about the importance of walk-ons in his program and awarded Adkins with a scholarship last week in a video posted on the school’s social media pages.
Adkins is a popular player on the USC roster and teammates mobbed him in celebration of the occasion. Receivers coach Justin Stepp was shown giving him a hug after the speech. After Beamer’s announcement, Adkins was shown calling his parents to tell them the news.
Beamer said the school had a few scholarships open and felt Adkins was a worthy candidate based on his contributions both on and off the field. Adkins earned all-SEC academic honors a few times during his time at USC.
Adkins, a standout receiver at Hillcrest High School, walked on to the USC program in 2018 but didn’t see any action until 2019. He has appeared in 10 games with the Gamecocks, catching five passes for 78 yards.
“He is a guy who is not only a great story about what he is currently doing by delivering pizzas. He has played a lot of snaps here, caught passes in games and been a great football player for us,” Beamer said. “At the time, he was most deserving and seeing the reaction by his teammates, they agreed also.
“He is passionate about the University of South Carolina and the state of South Carolina. He is a great student. ... Being a college student athlete is hard. There is a lot of time demands from an athletic and academic standpoint. But he was delivering pizzas at night and to me that says so much about him. ... Guys like Trey Adkins and other guys on our team give me a lot of hope for the future. There is a lot of eyes on them and they are in this thing for the right reasons.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2021 at 7:57 AM.
