New recruit (not sure if he has been listed here before):
Jake Dunniway QB 6'1 195 from St. Mary's of Stockton has accepted a preferred walk-on to the Aggies. This kid threw for 4066 yards and 48 TD's last year and was named All CIF San Joaquin Section Player of the Year and All NorCal All State. He had offers/interest from Cornell, Harvard, Yale and UCSD.
My understanding is that a "preferred walk on" player is guaranteed a position on the roster even though they were not given a scholarship whereas a "walk on" player has to go through tryouts in order to try and make the team. Both types of "walk ons" could eventually earn a scholarship.
Wikipedia (the source of all knowledge. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information.) says:
"In some instances, a college coach/recruiter may designate an athlete as a "preferred walk-on" during the scouting process. In this situation, the athlete is assured a spot on the team, but the coach is unable or unwilling to offer a scholarship."
that seems to be the general consensus on a google search.
I believe that there is three different times a walk on can be added in the FCS. The three times are the start of fall camp, the beginning of the academic year and spring practice. I believe fall camp in the FCS is limited to 95 players and this is the time most preferred walk on are added. When school starts the team can be expanded to 105 players and you will see players added then. They also add players in the Spring of their freshmen year and these are players that were not promised a spot on the team, but are more or less trying out for the team.
In the late Biggs D-1AA era, "preferred walk-ons" came in for Fall camp or just after Fall camp, as SloStang mentioned. They got Athletic Dept assistance with admissions/financial aid/class schedules and were treated like regular players in every way. Many earned scholarships and are names you'd recognize.
There were also 10-15 tryout players that enrolled as regular students in Fall (without any team association), joined workouts in Winter, and tried out for the duration of Spring Ball. Typically, 1-2 made the team (mostly special teams/backups, but at least 1 starter that I can think of). It was a tough road for these guys - they were strangers in a tight-knit position group, didn't know the drills, started behind on the scheme/calls, didn't get much real consideration from the coaches, and fell last in line for playing time to show their stuff.
Big numbers, high completion percentage, and coached by a former Aggie - Tony Franks. Coach Franks claims he has as much potential as some former top QBs that played for him and went to big time schools.
I watched his highlights, several of the first throws seemed underthrown and one was wobbling. Some better thrown balls were later in his highlight reel. Was his arm the question mark, since he doesn't have speed? Any idea Toe?