Former UF Player Steven Harris Gives Fan Full Swamp Experience
Fresh off a tour of the Heavener Football Training Center, Rashaad Walker, in his Gators sweatshirt, big chain and backwards Hightop Sports hat, followed behind 2006 Florida football national champion Steven Harris as he muscled his way through the sea of cheering orange and blue gathered along the corner of Gale Lemrand Drive and University Avenue for the Gators’ arrival.
Now just a foot from the players’ bus, Walker’s smile grew as the doors opened and many Gators stopped to dab him up after they got off.
“That was a cherished moment,” Walker said.
As the team made its way down Gator Walk toward Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Harris and Walker followed suit. Walker’s dad, Leonard Davis, trailed them, documenting his son’s introduction to Gator Nation. The fans weren’t just cheering the Gators, but also shouting for Walker’s attention as they leaned over the yellow rope to give him a high five.
Once inside the stadium, Walker rushed down the steps toward the north end of the field. He glanced back at his dad, then turned around to take in the view as Harris looked down at him with a grin. As Walker stood on Florida Field, he muttered: “I’m home.”
“To actually walk down Gator Walk, that was a blind moment for me because nobody else gets to do that like I did,” Walker said. “I just felt I got to soak this moment in, because this is a moment that [I] will never be forgetting.”
Walker had never set foot in Gainesville until Saturday, but Harris made his visit possible, launching a GoFundMe to help cover the travel and ticket costs to fly Walker from Washington, D.C., and secure seats as the Gators took on No.4 Ole Miss.
Walker, who became a Gators fan around 2019 during the start of the Kyle Pitts and Kyle Trask era, first connected with Harris four years ago through Instagram when he was 18 years old. After engaging with many of Harris’ posts, Walker messaged him asking to hop on a call. Though slightly hesitant, Harris agreed.
“I was like, ‘Who?’” Harris said.
The two ended up talking for hours and quickly bonded over their love of the Gators.
“He had great energy, and he could talk for days,” Harris said. “I had never heard [anyone] talk that long about the Gators or be that excited about the games, and he had never been to Gainesville.”
Walker, who has autism, goes to a men’s program in the morning, but as soon as he gets home, he starts posting about the Gators on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter), often providing updates on recruits. Harris even remembers Walker, making more than 30,000 posts about the Gators in one year.
Harris eventually decided to give Walker his personal number as he began to take on more of a “big brother” role in his life, and even if his phone rings at 1 a.m., he always picks up.
“I told myself, ‘This kid, he’s young, he can use a mentor,” Harris said. “So he would call me every day, and we would just talk, and I would just listen to him and give him advice on different things.”
As Gators football entered a new era under coach Jon Sumrall, Harris knew this was the season to bring Walker to The Swamp for the first time. Walker decided the Ole Miss game would be the perfect opportunity for his debut, so Harris booked him a flight from Washington, D.C., to Columbia, South Carolina, where Davis lives.
The father-son duo drove to their hotel in Ocala on Friday, and immediately started driving around the city, stopping at Target and Walmart to grab Walker Gators gear for Saturday. Before Walker could check attending a Gators game off his bucket list, he first had to check off meeting Harris in person for the first time.
“To meet him in person was like a dream come true,” Walker said. “It’s amazing just to talk to him, because he’s a more comfortable person that I can talk Florida Gator football with.”
The trio packed in a full agenda of gameday experiences before the 3:30 p.m. scheduled kickoff, starting with tailgating with boosters, touring campus and getting an inside look at the training center. While at the center, general manager Dave Caldwell, who worked in player personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles, let Walker hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy from the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX win.
But the highlight of the trip wasn’t holding a piece of hardware from the NFL team he and his dad cheer for; rather, it was seeing flashlights illuminate the stadium before the start of the fourth quarter as fans chimed in for one of Florida’s most prized traditions: “I Won’t Back Down.”
“I can’t say a kid on Christmas, because he was more excited than that,” Davis said. “He was just the happiest I’ve ever seen in my life.”
If watching the Gators crush the No.4 team in the country wasn’t enough excitement, in the final five minutes, Harris got a security guard to open the mini gate, letting Davis and Walker onto the sidelines.
“The officer that was right in front of me, he got a smirk because he’s like, ‘Dang, this kid is living his dream,’” Walker said.
After the game, Walker shook hands with Sumrall and took photos with players and coaches. Davis said he’s sure Walker will frame the photo of him and Jadan Baugh immediately. Though getting on the field wasn’t part of the initial plan, Davis was more surprised by how many people recognized his son.
“Some of the players actually on the team knew who he was, saying ‘Hey, Rashaad, you made it,’” Davis said. “I’m like, wow. Fans when we were on the field were calling Rashaad over. I didn’t actually think this many people knew who he was.”
Harris loved making Walker’s dream come true and especially appreciated the fan base’s support to make the trip possible. He wants to repeat the experience for more fans who have never been to The Swamp.
“[The support] means a lot and it struck my heart,” Harris said. “I’m going to try to do it every year, but you got to have true Gator passion, and if you do, I want to help you get to The Swamp.”
As gameday concluded, Davis had to get Walker back to Columbia for his 10 a.m. flight to Washington, D.C on Sunday. After a quick nap at the hotel, the two hopped back in the car at about 2 a.m. for the five-and-a-half-hour journey. By Monday, both returned to their typical routines: Davis went to work as the operations manager at SE Pet Solutions and Walker jumped back into posting Gators updates on social media.
Even days later, whenever Davis calls his son after work, the Gainesville trip fills most of the conversation. Though the trip barely lasted a weekend, one game was all the reassurance Walker needed to know he made the right decision.
“I joined the right fan base,” Walker said. “Being part of Steven Harris’ crew. He made sure I got to a game, and I got to The Swamp, and as long as I got to The Swamp, I’m happy.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football
