It was late December, and Kansas University’s football team was practicing for its date with Houston University in the Fort Worth Bowl.

What could Mangino possibly want? What did the KU football coach have to say to a lowly special-teams walk-on? Exactly what every walk-on wants to hear : that he had earned a scholarship.

“I was happy, to say the least,” said Seymour, a Lawrence High product who had suited up for three seasons without financial aid.

Moreover, Seymour was even happier when he learned Sadiq Muhammed, a walk-on defensive back from Hickman Mills High in Kansas City, Mo., who had enrolled the same year (2003) as Seymour, also had earned grant-in-aid.

“Me and Sadiq both came in at the same time, and we’re roommates,” Seymour said. “It was real nice when the other guys came up to say congratulations.”

One congratulator was fullback Brandon McAnderson, a scholarship player who had been a teammate of Seymour’s at Lawrence High.

“I feel really, really happy for him,” McAnderson said. “We’ve played together since the seventh grade, and I know he’s worked as hard as he can.”

Second the motion, said LHS football coach Dirk Wedd.

“Brian is one of the great leaders we’ve had in the 17 years I’ve been (at LHS),” Wedd said. “Going 2 1/2 years without a scholarship shows you his tenacity.”

Seymour is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound fourth-year junior who is listed as a safety, although he plays primarily on punt and kickoff teams. He was red-shirted in 2003, spent all of 2004 on the scout team and earned playing time in five games last fall.

“He’s a guy who has gotten better year after year,” said KU aide Clint Bowen, who coached special teams last season. “You like to see guys who put in the work get rewarded.”

Seymour wasn’t regarded as a major-college prospect while in high school. Several smaller schools were interested, however. At least, for awhile.

“He would have been a Pitt State or Emporia State type,” Wedd said, “but he hurt his knee in the first game and didn’t come back until the sixth game.”

So after he graduated from Lawrence High in the spring of 2003, Seymour had pretty much made up his mind to go to KU and concentrate on academics. In the meantime, Bowen was encouraging him to join the Jayhawks as a walk-on.

“Watching him play at Lawrence High,” Bowen said, “we knew he was a tough guy.”

By that, Bowen meant Seymour, while not the fastest or most athletic, nevertheless possessed an uncoachable trait – the penchant to strike a blow.

Ultimately, Seymour took Bowen’s advice.

“I told myself I’d put in two years, and see where it went from there,” Seymour said. “All that time, I still felt like I was part of the team. I suited for all the home games and last year I made some road trips.”

Meanwhile, Seymour was also making contributions to the team grade point average. A business finance major, he entered the fall semester with a 3.85 GPA.

“He’s one of those kids who come along once in a great while,” Wedd said. “He’s a great character kid.”