NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Luke Schuermann often gets “the look” whenever he mentions his last football stop. It can be a quizzical expression or a blank stare based on the level of knowledge of the words just spoken.
Johns Hopkins? Wait, give me a second. Oh, you mean the school known for producing renowned journalists, doctors and scientists?
That’s right. That one. Among its most famous alumni are CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, former President Woodrow Wilson and film director Wes Craven.
Something the Baltimore-based private research institution is not known for is its football program. Its first team, in 1882, had to play as the Clifton Athletic Club because of the school’s contempt for the emerging sport. For its first 13 seasons, students served as coaches.
More than a century later, the Blue Jays are still playing in the shadows. They’re a plucky NCAA Division III operation that averages a few thousand fans for home games, its players doubling as promoters.
“I’ve had people be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know they had a football team, you know, I just thought they had like a med school,’ ” Schuermann said with a chuckle.
Even as a three-time All-American, Schuermann never became a household name outside his own abode. Maybe that’s why UCLA is the transfer edge rusher’s new football home, the next stop on an improbable journey that Schuermann hopes can take him from Division III to the Big Ten to the NFL.
“He’s not like, if it happens, it happens,” said Jennifer Schuermann, Luke’s mother, “he’s going to do everything he can to try to make it happen.”
The NFL is already well-versed in this underdog story, every team having sent a scout to watch Luke play or practice while at Johns Hopkins, according to Dan Wodicka, the Blue Jays coach who was the defensive line coach and defensive coordinator when Luke played…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa-division-iii-big-ten-120024408.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-08-13 12:00:24
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
