AthleteIQ

Every college roster has a hierarchy. Starters. Backups. Walk-ons. Practice players. How the stars of the team treat the people at the bottom of that hierarchy tells you everything about who they really are.

The walk-on who works harder than anyone, gets the least recognition, and still shows up every day is the heartbeat of a program. The scholarship athlete who respects that work, learns their name, and treats them like a full teammate — that athlete is a leader.

In the transfer portal era, the culture of a program is shaped more by how stars treat role players than by anything the coaching staff does. Athletes talk. They leave programs where they don't feel valued. They stay in programs where even the biggest stars make everyone feel important.

Your teammate score is not just about what you do in games. It's about what you do in the weight room, in the film room, in the locker room. It's about whether the youngest, least-famous person on your roster feels respected.

Years after your career ends, the players who will remember you most clearly are not always your fellow starters. They are the role players you made feel important when you didn't have to.