January 8, 2014 at 1:42 p.m.
Still a part of the program
Rhinelander's Schmidt continues football career as part of Northwestern coaching staff
Still a part of the program
Although hailing from Rhinelander where Badger fans are a heavy majority, Schmidt was sporting his Wildcat purple.
He was watching a team in Northwestern that with first-year head coach Chris Collins, is attempting a complete overhaul of the program. He's attempting to turn a perennial loser into a winner.
It's a challenge Schmidt knows something about. When he joined the Northwestern football team after graduating from Rhinelander High School in 2007, that program was in the thick of rebuilding mode. Since then, Schmidt has seen bowl berths, Heisman hopefuls and high expectations, all of which were unfamiliar territory in Evanston for a long time.
"Two words: Pat Fitzgerald," he said. "Coach Fitz is a two-time National Defensive Player of the Year winner. He led the Cats to the Rose Bowl in the mid '90s. He's been there and done that. When recruiting 17 and 18 year-olds to come and earn a degree from one of the best academic institutions in the country and to play football at the highest level, it's pretty powerful coming from a man with such a strong resume.
"He understands what it takes to have success as a student-athlete and guys want to play for him. Along with our assistant coaches, Coach Fitz has done a great job of recruiting really good football players and I think we are seeing that translate to continued success on the football field."
After winning their first bowl game since the 1948 Rose bowl in 2012, the Wildcats suffered a disappointing 2013 campaign, finishing 5-7 and ineligible for a bowl for the first time since 2007.
After redshirting his freshman year, Schmidt exhausted his eligibility after the 2011 season, but soon after the season, a position opened up within the program and Schmidt found it too tempting to pass up.
"To put it simply, Northwestern University is a really special place," he said. "I enjoyed every minute of my five seasons here as a player, so when this opportunity presented itself after my final season ended, I couldn't pass it up. I'm combining my interest in a career in higher education and in particular, college athletics, with the opportunity to work with one of the best college football coaches in the country. It was an absolute no brainer."
Schmidt took a job as the Director of Player Development for the Northwestern football team. He's been on the job for nearly two years now and said the position continues to be engaging and challenging.
"I oversee everything our players do off the football field," Schmidt said. "The biggest piece of this, and the one that I enjoy most, is developing our players relative to their personal and professional futures. This not only involves educating our players on how to craft a resume, how to perform informational interviews and how to dress and act in a professional environment, but it really focuses in on the power of networking, leveraging the Northwestern network as a whole and the importance of selling a personal brand in order to obtain either an internship experience or a full-time job offer after graduation."
It's a job he finds very rewarding. While he didn't always plan to stay involved with football after he graduated, Schmidt admitted the idea is becoming more and more attractive.
"Obviously, football is a passion of mine," he said. "I love everything about it. In an ideal world, I'd love to work in football, or close to it, for a really, really long time. That said, who knows where my career will take me as it continues to progress. I aspire to climb the athletic administration ladder, so if that means getting away from a role that works directly with football for awhile, then that is a decision I'll have to make. For now, I'm just happy to still be here."
The 2013 season is over for the Wildcats, but while many coaches are hitting the recruiting trail, Schmidt's responsibilities to the team are just starting to shift into high gear.
"Honestly, the majority of my student-athletic specific responsibilities take place in the offseason," he said. "Because our guys are so busy in the fall with school and football, a lot of the professional and personal development pieces are put on hold until the winter, spring and summer quarters. That said, we use the winter and spring months to focus on our alumni mentoring program, to continue to help create and expose our guys to internship opportunities and to help educate them on how to best be prepared for life after football."
Schmidt's transition to life after football was different than most. He's working with the same coaching staff, some of the same players and still wearing Northwestern purple, minus the shoulder pads.
When the game between the Wildcats and Badgers ended Thursday night, Schmidt saw his school's team fall to Wisconsin 76-49.
The game wasn't competitive, but as Schmidt knows, rebuilding takes time, guidance and, most of all, hard work.
Now, instead of climbing out of the cellar, he's part of a staff that is looking to maintain and build upon success.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.