I gave it a shot.

I participated in the SIU football walk-on tryouts Monday afternoon and finally got to see if my weeks of training would pay off the way I hoped.

Trust me, it is tough walking onto a Division I football team.

Before the tryout, all prospective future Salukis met in the Boydston Center to take care of all the necessary paperwork.

In case you were wondering, Saluki Athletics is very thorough with covering its own behind when it comes to liability for injury. In addition to the physical exam needed to pass in order to try out, a prospective walk-on needs to provide detailed proof of insurance, a waiver releasing the team from liability and a copy of his or her class schedule.

Here is where my first problem arose that day. I had not filled out enough information on the insurance sheet. My chronic paranoia set in and I was sure they would send me away for not having enough of the information filled out.

Luckily though, I got that sheet filled out satisfactorily, and it was on to have my height and weight recorded. At that point I was also handed a Saluki practice jersey, one of the coolest feelings of the entire experience.

Once all 25 or so of us who were trying out had been measured and weighed, we headed out to Saluki Stadium to warm up. I changed out of my T-shirt and tennis shoes into a compression shirt, a jersey and my football cleats, which I had not worn in about a year.

After a thorough warmup in the cold weather, the coaches put us through basic drills to determine our athleticism, including the 40-yard dash. I had not practiced short sprints, but I was just there to punt anyway, so I was not too worried about it. Even so, it was not encouraging to see one of the assistant coaches cringe after I ran.

I did not ask what my time was. I did not want to know.

After those drills, the coaches split us up by position. Different position groups went with their respective assistant coaches. As the only specialist at the tryout, I worked with coach Dale Lennon.

I almost hit every kick pretty well. Only one or two went off the side of my foot, and every one of them went for positive yards. I definitely did not embarrass myself.

However, I did not kick many balls perfectly. My lack of professional coaching showed and I had a few bad drops. That was what kept me from making the team.

Lennon told me I had good pop and I got my kick off quickly, but I was not consistent enough to make the team. As my own toughest critic, I completely agreed with him.

All in all, I left the tryout knowing I gave this a shot. I can say I tried, and I know what I need to do to have a shot at making it next time.

Thomas Donley can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter @TdonleyDE or 536-3311 ext. 269.