Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Brian Biada's most memorable moment at Florida occurred before he joined the Gators football team as a walk-on in 2009.

And of all places, it happened in an introduction to cultural anthropology class.

"I was in a classroom with Brandon Spikes,'' Biada said. "I took my shirt off right in front of the class and asked him to sign it. He took me down to meet Tim Tebow shortly after that. Tim signed a football for me."

Biada grew up a diehard Gators fan in Naples, Fla. A few months prior to that meeting with Spikes, he was in the crowd in Miami as the Gators defeated Oklahoma for their second national title in three seasons.

The 5-foot-10, 179-pound Biada (playing weight in 2011) was a standout defensive back and linebacker at Gulf Coast High School. Once he graduated and enrolled at UF in the summer of 2009, Biada figured his time in a helmet and shoulder pads was over.

"I went to Florida on an academic scholarship and I had every intention of just playing rugby and enjoying the dream of living in Gainesville for four years,'' Biada said. "And then I gave it shot."

Soon after a tryout for walk-ons, Biada got an email. He first thought it was wrong. But it was right. He made the team.

Biada has turned his experience as a Florida walk-on from 2009-11 into a book, titled "Gator Walk: How to Walk-On and Not Crawl Off." You can order the book on Amazon.com.

Biada never appeared in a game for the Gators but he dressed for several his final season and played in the Orange & Blue Debut spring game. The reason he wrote the book is because when he sought information about becoming a walk-on, there wasn't a lot of information out there.

He hopes his story can help others chase the dream of being part of a college football team.

"I'm trying to appeal to two different types of audiences,'' Biada said. "You have potential or aspiring walk-ons, and you also have fans of the game or Gator fans. I tried to keep it light-hearted, but I'm also trying to keep it inspirational in the sense that I want to give some meaningful information and guidance to someone who is looking to walk-on."

Biada first considered a future book while he was on the team. He realized he was part of a special team and around a group of unique individuals such as head coach Urban Meyer, Tebow, Spikes and others.

He started outlining the 128-page book in 2013 and it was published earlier this summer. Biada now lives in a suburb of Washington D.C., and works as a senior systems engineer for the MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit company that operates multiple federally funded research and development centers around the country.

The book, written in a breezy style, was a nice escape and trip down memory lane for Biada.

A couple of excerpts: 
 

• "Before I continue, I want to note that behind the scenes Tim [Tebow] is exactly who he portrays himself to be during interviews. He is kind-hearted, never says a curse word and treats everyone on the team equally (regardless of whether or not they are an athlete on scholarship or a walk-on). So when Tim decided to indirectly refer to me as a "lawn gnome" during a passing drill, it was more of a matter of circumstance and timing than discrimination toward walk-ons." – Biada on a play at practice when he was lined up against receiver Riley Cooper and Cooper was having trouble understanding the call from Tebow
• "A week later, when the team bus returned to the hotel after our Sugar Bowl victory, he introduced himself to my parents in the section that had been roped off for friends and family only. My mom loved him. She is known for her notorious ability to see through friendships and detect bad influencers when I was a child. However, she walked away with the initial impression that he was a great person.'' – Biada on an unlikely friendship he struck with former Gators tight end Aaron Hernandez, who went out of his way to make Biada feel comfortable on the team

 
Most of the book shares stories about the day-to-day job of walk-ons and what it takes to be successful as one. Biada is convinced he would not be where he is today without the experience he had playing for the Gators.

While he never had a shining moment such as walk-on receiver Michael McNeely did against Georgia when he scored a touchdown on a fake field goal, Biada has no regrets.

"I'm using my story as one giant lesson learned,'' he said. "The sole purpose is to appeal to walk-ons to just go for it. I wouldn't be where I am professionally without that experience as a walk-on. That's one of the first things that came up in my interviews, my experience as a walk-on."

It was wear-your-jersey-to-work day for Biada's company last week. His colleagues wore their favorite T-shirts or jersey to support their alma mater. Biada wore his No. 31 jersey.

The same one he wore for the Gators.