UW Walk-On Christan Galvan: 'I'm Just a Kid Chasing a Dream'
His hoodie reads "Dream Chaser." This aptly describes Christian Galvan's competitive attitude, as well.
"I'm just a kid chasing a dream," the Bothell High senior running back said. "It's been the same dream since I was a little kid."
It gives him chills as the days count down to his summer enrollment. Chills thinking about coming down the famed tunnel at Husky Stadium, shoulder to shoulder with his University of Washington football teammates the first time.
All Galvan ever dreamed of was being a Husky. He remembers making imaginary defenders miss in his living room. He was playing for the UW.
"When I was little, I'd see the play the Huskies would run on TV and then I'd replicate it in our living room when they'd huddle," he said, trying to hide a smile.
Real defenders had no more success bringing Galvan to the ground as the imaginary ones. Over his high school career, he churned out 5,500 all-purpose yards and 47 TDs. He was twice selected Kingco Offensive Player of the Year.
Prior to the 2019 football season, he shifted his approach from dreaming of making great plays to challenging himself "to be the best version of me."
The current version of Galvan has dimensions of 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds. He knows a lot of schools looked at his size and didn't give him a second look. He also aware lot of players at the college and NFL levels have similar size.
"I've never run through a hole that my line made for me and thought, 'Dang, I would have made that play if I'd been an inch taller,' " he said.
To motivate himself, Galvan taped four sheets of paper to the outside of his bedroom closet. They held a long list of goals. Topping them was this: "I WILL LEAD MY TEAM TO WIN A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP." The rest were demands he placed on himself to achieve that goal.
He made most of it happen. His famed Bothell "Blue Train" advanced to the 4A state championship game but fell to Camas 35-14.
Following the season, the scholarship offer he wanted didn't come in the mail but Galvan was not deterred. He still dreamed of wearing purple and gold. On February 4, he agreed to play for the Huskies as a preferred walk-on.
Sure, he knew that cornerback Myles Bryant and linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio arrived at Washington as unheralded walk-ons and earned scholarships. Even so, their successes were not a motivating factor for him. It was all about what he wanted.
"They didn't really factor into my decision to walk on," Galvan said. "I have thought about walking down that tunnel on game day a lot."
Galvan was just 7 years old and learning about the game of football when the Huskies went winless in 2008. He was impressed that Washington fans remained passionate about their team.
Although actual memories of the 0-12 season have grown faint, he says he the game-time Huskies atmosphere was addictive.
"I knew early on that Washington fans are very loyal," Galvan says. "I remember the fans woofing and barking, and thinking how cool it would be to play in that atmosphere."
He couldn't pass up the opportunity to play college football in front of his parents, friends and the people of the suburban city that he loves, Bothell.
Galvan also will be reunited at the UW with his first Bothell High quarterback, Jacob Sirmon.
"Jacob was my QB for my freshman and sophomore years," he said. "It would be cool to play with him again."
Bothell High recently has supplied the UW with elite talent that includes Sirmon, Evan Hudson, Colin Porter, and Michael Hartvigson.
Ultimately, Galvan says he won't try to follow their path. The lure for him is still to pull on the purple and gold.
Galvan knows the stories of the other walk-ons who have received scholarships for showing persistence and confirming their skill levels. He's ready to do it his own way, relying on those personal demands taped to his bedroom closet door.
