Spring20_Mag_Combined_WEB_single_pages

12 // PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE BRISTER’S ODYSSEY A walk-on player’s long journey to a scholarship and starting position with Viking football LARRY BRISTER III didn’t draw any collegiate football offers when he graduated from Portland’s Jefferson High School despite a host of league and team honors. Rather than looking for a lower division school, he decided to take the academic scholarship offered by Portland State and try walking on to the Viking football program. One problem: the coaches weren’t interested. As a freshman, one coach told him he needed to gain weight. He did, but was turned down again as a sophomore. “I kept trying to play, but they wouldn’t give me a shot,” said Brister. “I wondered if I’d ever get a chance to prove myself. I kept watching practices and thinking ‘I can do that.’” A year later as a junior, he gave it one more try. “He kept coming back, so we let him on the team,” recalled offensive line coach Matt Leunen. Being away from competitive football for more than two years required a lot of catching up, but getting in shape and learning plays and footwork weren’t the only obstacles Brister faced. In addition, he would have to negotiate a disability that he’d had since childhood—a legally blind right eye. He was up front with the Viking coaching staff, but Leunen said he didn’t think the disability would be a problem. Still, the Portland State coaching staff never discussed Brister’s visual impairment publicly. They felt it was important not to let an opponent learn of a potential competitive advantage. Brister worked his way onto special teams that first year, starting on the back line in kick returns during the Northern Colorado game. “I was very nervous on that first play, but I also was really excited. On that play, I athletics SO-MIN COTIK