For the past two years, Indiana redshirt junior defensive lineman Gavin Everett has had to pay to play and pay his way through school.

That all changed in an instant Tuesday morning.

Head coach Tom Allen gathered Indiana's players in a circle after practice and called on Everett and junior left tackle Coy Cronk for a one-on-one drill between the defensive line and the offensive line. After pausing them and preventing them from crashing into one another, then preaching about heat and toughness, Allen surprised Everett with a scholarship.

“He brings it, I’m telling you, every single day,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey said. “I’m so happy for that kid, because he’s a hard worker and a good player.”

Everett joined the program in 2016 after not seeing the field as a true freshman at Western Illinois in 2015. The Greenwood, Ind. native and Center Grove High School product had to sit out the 2016 campaign in accordance with NCAA transfer rules, then walked on to the team.

He made his debut last fall and finished with seven tackles, four solo, a forced fumble and a half-sack in nine games. Prior to that, he was a two-time scout team player of the week during his redshirt year.

Everett is currently pursuing a degree in management from Indiana's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, according to his roster bio.

"I love that guy, because all he does is work," Allen said. "He don't make excuses, he came here as a walk-on, he came to compete and he came to play."

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