From Walk-On To Essential: How Hard Work Paid Off For Ken Standley

Truth be told, Ken Standley did not turn as many heads as he would have liked to during his final two seasons at Ware County High School in Waycross, Ga. While some of his peers celebrated offer after offer on their social media accounts, Standley considered his recruiting stories as a prep player to be, well, slow.

"I thought it would pick up after I started to get more starts and playing time at Ware County, but it stayed slow," Standley said. "I only had offers from small schools, but I had some academic scholarships as well, including one from Mercer."

Standley did his part to get noticed. He amassed 80 tackles (48 solo) as a senior, while also posting 11 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, five pass break-ups and a pair of fumble recoveries as the Gators cruised to an 8-4 record and a runner-up finish in the region. He registered seven or more stops seven times during the 2018 campaign, including double-digit tackle efforts on three occasions.

The scholarship offers continued to trickle in along the way, albeit academic scholarships and few from NCAA Division I squads trying to entice the youngster to continue his athletic career at their institution. Standley remained undeterred, however, steadfast with the belief that his future college plans included appearances on the football field as well.

"I knew that I wanted to play college football coming out of high school, and I had enough faith and belief in myself that I could do it at the Division I level," Standley said. "I was getting academic scholarships, but I thought I could (play college football) and I wanted to try. I knew I had what it took. I was already getting academic money, so I knew that I had to bust my tail and earn a full scholarship on the football field."

So, with an academic scholarship in hand – one that would cover roughly half of the cost of attendance at Mercer – Standley made the 3-hour trip to Macon knowing full well the climb that he had ahead of him, especially on a team that was returning most of its linebackers and safeties. But, he fit in immediately, and even caught the eye of then-safeties coach Mitch Doolittle who saw an opportunity for Standley to log playing time on special teams.

After a defensive staff meeting a few days later, however, the tune changed a bit. Rather than see Standley burn a year of eligibility playing solely on special teams, the coaching staff advised him to take his redshirt year and prepare for what looked to be a promising future ahead.

"Being a first-year walk-on is very eye opening," he said. "It teaches you the value of everything – it teaches you how to work, it teaches you to never take anything for granted and it teaches you to appreciate everything that you get and every opportunity that you get. I worked hard on scout team, continued to build my body and get stronger in the weight room and smarter in the film room."

The efforts to improve himself both on and off the field paid dividends the following season under then-first-year head coach Drew Cronic. He saw action in nine games amid a pandemic-muddied 2020 and Spring 2021 campaign, and ranked sixth among Orange & Black standouts with 39 tackles, including 2-1/2 tackles for loss. The redshirt freshman performance also included a dozen stops in a 42-28 win over The Citadel.

Seemingly, most players would be beaming with confidence after a debut season like that, but Standley was not satisfied. Amid the uncertainty that the pandemic brought, the players were sent home following the season which, according to the now-established defensive asset, significantly trimmed the time to strengthen his significance moving forward.

"I broke my thumb and sprained my knee during the season," he said with a grimace. "I'd take a step forward and keep taking steps back. I ended up getting really healthy and took that summer and got bigger, stronger and faster. I really kind of took off from there."

But, even Standley could not have known how his fortunes were about to change. He had, indeed, proven his significance in the spring, and the proof was about to show itself in a big way. A solid fall camp prior to the start of the 2021 campaign thrust his name to the top of the depth chart. He was about to be blessed with more than just extra playing time, however.

Following an early-season practice, Cronic called his entire team to midfield for the normal, everyday post-practice speech, though, this one had a twist. The enthusiastic head coach put an end to the day's activities by announcing a handful of walk-on players that had earned their keep and made the scholarship list. Standley's day had finally come.

"My emotions were all over the place," he said. "I really didn't know how to react. When (Cronic) called my name at practice, I ran off and the whole team chased me. It was a very exciting moment and a breakthrough moment. I was proud of myself, and my family was proud of me."

Although the ultimate goal had been met, Standley has not rested on his laurels since earning a spot on the scholarship list. He was voted as a team captain for the 2022 season and, through three seasons so far in Macon, has amassed 214 career tackles – good enough for eighth on the program's all-time list with a bulk of games still yet to come. He was named a Preseason All-SoCon selection in late July based on a stellar 2022 campaign that watched him finish second on the team with 85 tackles, including seven behind the line of scrimmage.

To say it has been quite a journey for Standley is an understatement. He shrugs off his preseason hype, and adds that he "never really was an award guy." He earned his bachelor's degree in public health over the summer after maintaining a 3.454 grade point average as an undergraduate and is currently enrolled in Mercer's MBA program, but continues to stay humble because "it's always been about academics."

His eyes kind of light up a bit though when bringing the topic of conversation to his spot on the all-time tackles list, but that is only because it is a direct product of the hard work he has put in along the way In the end, Standley wrote his own story and, most people can agree, it seems to be headed for a very happy ending.

"Being a Mercer Bear means to me that anything is possible," he said. "No matter who wrote you off in the past, no matter who said you couldn't do it – as long as you work hard and keep God first and don't take no for an answer – your time will come. Things are pointless if they have no purpose. At the end of the day, you just have to work hard to get what you want."

From Walk-On To Essential: How Hard Work Paid Off For Ken Standley

Players Mentioned

Ken Standley

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