How this Mizzou Tigers football walk-on told his parents he earned a scholarship
Cannon York texted his family around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Missouri Tigers defensive end needed them to congregate later that day because he had news that would shake their lives.
But that meant Cannon was keeping his family on edge. His mom, Tammy, admitted she was feeling a bit of “dread” because she wasn’t sure what the phone call would entail. One time, her son called with an injury update, though they were accompanied by good news other times.
Once that long-awaited FaceTime call finally hit John York’s phone about 5 p.m., dad and mom picked up immediately.
It wasn’t Cannon on the screen, though.
It was Mizzou football coach Eliah Drinkwitz.
Cannon and Drinkwitz — both with “poker faces” on — said they needed to talk about something that came up at practice. After some banter and suspense, they finally shared the news: Cannon was being put on scholarship.
“We had hoped for this day, but it came as a surprise,” Tammy York told The Star in a phone interview. “I always expected I might scream and jump. But really, I think either one of us, all we could do was sit there and smile. We were saying ‘Congratulations,’ ‘We knew you could do it,’ and ‘Thank you,’ a whole bunch to Coach Drinkwitz.”
Drinkwitz himself blindsided Cannon York earlier Tuesday. During a team meeting, the MU coach had every player who made their first career start last weekend raise their hands. Three Tigers suspended their hands in the air — York was one of them.
He said at that point, he was just delighted to be part of that group, to be a contributor on the team. He was finally cracking the defensive line rotation in his third year at Mizzou.
Then Drinkwitz singled out York in front of the entire team.
“Cannon, if you’re going to start for us, we better put you on scholarship,” he told the walk-on. Ask any of his teammates about his reaction, York said, because he started “bawling like a baby.”
“Ultimately, I’ve always wanted to be a Tiger, whether that was as a walk-on or on scholarship now,” said York, from Lebanon, Missouri. “Since I was about 5 years old, I’ve been coming right outside here at Faurot and watching my Tigers play. Now to be a part of that, whether it’s a walk-on or whatever, I’m treated the same as everyone else.”
The phone call felt like a haze for both Tammy and John York — so had the past few days. Late Tuesday evening, Tammy said she had to keep pinching herself because she couldn’t believe how wild and fortunate her past 72 hours were.
It began last week, when there was growing hope Cannon was going to make his first start. At that point, she said they were on the fence about going to Columbia, South Carolina, for the game. But once they found out Friday morning Cannon was starting, she said “we knew we had to be there.”
“He had worked too hard,” she said. “We had followed him too long to not be there for that moment. We decided that we were hopping in the car and it was a 13.5-hour drive without the stops. We got to share it with him at the end, so that was special.”
There was a particular connection for Cannon and Mizzou, too. Family trips revolved around the roughly two-hour drive from Lebanon to Columbia. Cannon attended all the football camps growing up, Tammy York said.
Cannon York loves football, more specifically, “he loves Missouri football,” his mom said. Cannon York said one of his personal idols is Justin Britt, the former MU center and second round NFL pick who’s a Lebanon native himself.
When York was making his college decision, he had multiple football paths, including Division II and FCS schools. But he wanted to play for his state, which is why he chose to walk-on at Mizzou, his dad said.
“Ultimately, as a parent, you have to believe in your kids,” John York said. “I think we just believed that any other options besides Mizzou, Cannon just wouldn’t have been as happy and he wouldn’t have the same fire he has today at Mizzou.”
The Yorks are fortunate, they said, living so close to Columbia. They’ve made it to every contest in 2020, including the road games. They do try to give him space because of the pandemic.
They won’t be able to see Cannon for Thanksgiving because of team activities, but Tammy said they plan to be at the 11 a.m. Saturday game against Vanderbilt. Then they’ll celebrate Cannon’s accomplishments after the game — hopefully after he picks up some more tackles, though.
“We were happy and elated on Saturday that he got to start and that hard work had paid off,” Tammy said. “That was just big in itself. Two days later to find this out — we were just super excited for him.
“He’s been given a great opportunity but he’s also worked hard for that opportunity and he’s earned every bit of what he’s got. All he ever wanted was that chance and he knew he could do it.”