Owen Schmitt
Fullback | |||||
Personal information | |||||
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Born: | Gilman, Wisconsin, U.S. | February 13, 1985||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Fairfax (Fairfax, Virginia) | ||||
College: | West Virginia | ||||
NFL draft: | 2008 / Round: 5 / Pick: 163 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Owen Schmitt (born February 13, 1985) is a former
Schmitt has also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Oakland Raiders.
Early years
Schmitt was born with a
Schmitt played fullback,
Collegiate career
Wisconsin–River Falls
After graduation from high school, he enrolled at Wisconsin–River Falls. At River Falls, he posted a 1,063 yards and five touchdown performance his freshman year, which earned him WIAC all-conference honors in only nine starting games.
West Virginia
Schmitt attended spring practice the next year at
In
Schmitt earned National Strength and Conditioning Association Strength All-American honors at the end of the season, as he bulked up from 245 pounds to 260. After the season, he was named "College football's top workout freak" by ESPN.com.[2]
In
Schmitt's 57-yard touchdown run in the 48-28 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma came in an emotional game, his dash through the line of scrimmage and down the sideline broke open what had been a tight 6-3 scoreline. That run was also a personal career-best as well as a WVU school bowl record (until Noel Devine broke the record in the fourth quarter of that same game). It also marked the third consecutive bowl in which Schmitt had a 50+ yard run. Schmitt finished the Fiesta Bowl with three rushes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Schmitt was awarded the Ira Errett Rodgers Award and Fred Schaus Captain's Award at the end of the regular season by head coach Rich Rodriguez.
As a rush blocker, Schmitt finished the 2007 season with 106 knockdown blocks and 17 touchdown-resulting blocks. He also finished the season with two of his three "pooch" punts downed inside the 20-yard line, for an average of 20.3 yards-per-punt.
In Schmitt's career, he earned 21 career starts, four of which were at tight end. Through his 353 career carries (at WVU and Wisconsin–River Falls), he was only tackled for a loss four times. He carried the ball for 1,003 yards, a 6.3 yard average, during his Mountaineer career. In his four collegiate seasons, Schmitt totaled 122 points and 2,398 all-purpose yards.[3]
Professional career
Pre-draft
Schmitt accepted an invitation to play in the 2008 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama following the season. He was then invited to the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine.[4] Schmitt's 26 bench reps were tied for the fourth best by a back in the Combine.[5]
At
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
247 lb (112 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.72 s | 1.66 s | 2.69 s | 4.18 s | 6.96 s | 31.5 in (0.80 m) |
9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) |
26 reps | 24 |
All values from Pro Day[8]
|
Seattle Seahawks
Schmitt was drafted in the fifth round (163rd overall) in the
Schmitt did not play in the season opener against the Buffalo Bills, but he recorded one reception for six yards in the second game against the San Francisco 49ers. In the 27-3 victory over the St. Louis Rams, he recorded his first professional carry, for two yards. He earned his first career start against the Philadelphia Eagles later in the season, in which he had a block in the backfield on a 90-yard touchdown pass early in the game, a franchise record for longest pass play in team history.[10] He finished the game with two receptions for eight yards. In the following game, he carried the ball three times for 19 yards, including a 14-yard run, and recorded one reception for six yards against the Miami Dolphins. In the next loss to the Arizona Cardinals, he recorded a seven-yard reception. Schmitt finished his rookie season by totaling five carries for 21 yards and six receptions for 29 yards, playing in every game on the season except for the season-opening loss against Buffalo.
Following the March 2009 free agency departure of starting fullback Leonard Weaver to the Philadelphia Eagles,[11] Schmitt was expected to compete with Justin Griffith for the starting Fullback role for the 2009 season.
Schmitt attracted media and YouTube attention in the aftermath of a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2009 NFL season during which he smashed his helmet against his head until he opened up a large gash.[12]
On September 6, 2010, the Seahawks released Schmitt, citing the lack of need for a true fullback in the Seattle offense.
Philadelphia Eagles
Schmitt was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on September 13, 2010 following a season-ending injury to Leonard Weaver. On December 2 against the Houston Texans in week 13, Schmitt caught a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Vick, marking Schmitt's first career touchdown with the Eagles.
Oakland Raiders
On May 15, 2012, he signed with the Oakland Raiders.
On December 10, 2012, the Raiders released Schmitt and promoted cornerback Chimdi Chekwa from the practice squad. Schmitt played in 13 games, with four starts when Marcel Reece shifted to tailback following injuries to Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson.
Personal life
Growing up,
Schmitt likes to play guitar in his spare time and can often be found following the Davisson Brothers Band on tour. The band based out of Clarksburg, West Virginia allows him to play on stage as a part of the band whenever he is able.[14][15]
In 2013, Schmitt partnered with the Davisson Brothers Band and opened "Schmitt's Saloon and Davisson Brothers Band Music Hall" in Morgantown, West Virginia to be the band's music hub at home. Later that year the music video for the un-released single "Country Just Like Me", by the Davisson Brothers Band, was shot by Nashville director Steve Condon, which included cameos by Owen Schmitt, famed bluegrass musician Del McCoury and other Nashville musicians and friends. Schmitt continued to run the establishment, which hosted other national country acts,[16] until he closed it in June 2018, telling Morgantown's newspaper, The Dominion Post, "It was a great place, but I’m just worn out. I was cooking, cleaning and bartending and I didn’t get to run my business because it was running me all the time." The establishment's landlord also indicated that business declined after a major fight in the parking lot resulted in at least one serious injury.[17] The former Schmitt's Saloon was also a barbecue restaurant, with Schmitt serving as the main barbecue chef; he had expanded that portion of the Saloon into a catering business. When he closed the Saloon, he planned to make the catering business a full-time profession.[17][18]
In 2015, Owen also appeared in a new music video for the nationally released single "Jesse James", by the Davisson Brothers Band. The video was directed by Steve Condon and premiered on Sirius XM's the Highway. The video was later released and aired on
In 2021, Owen took position as assistant coach at Greenbrier West High School in Charmco, West Virginia.
In the media
Schmitt is also featured on the cover of the
References
- ^ Eli Saslow, WVU's Schmitt Is the Gift That Keeps on Hitting, Washington Post, September 12, 2007, accessed June 5, 2013.
- ^ Bruce Feldman, College football's top workout freaks, ESPN.com, February 22, 2006. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
- ^ NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Owen Schmitt
- ^ "NIC: 2008 Official Invite List". NFLcombine.net. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
- ^ "NFL Events: Combine Top Performers". NFL.com. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
- ^ Owen Schmitt - KFFL
- ^ "ProFootballWeekly.com". ProFootballWeekly.com. Retrieved 2010-12-30.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "2008 NFL Draft Scout Owen Schmitt College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
- ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
- ^ "Stepping Up". Archived from the original on 2008-11-08. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Eagles Sign Fullback Weaver ESPN, March 20, 2009
- ^ Steve Kelley (2009-10-13). "Steve Kelley | Young players would be wise not to follow Owen Schmitt's example". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
- ^ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Owen Schmitt". NFL.com. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
- ^ "Owen Schmitt to Perform with Davisson Brothers - WBOY-TV". WBOY.com. 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
- ^ "The Davisson Brothers Band Featuring Owen Schmitt". Live at Burning Rock!. 2010-06-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
- ^ Kirshner, Alex (2017). "West Virginia vs. Pitt 2007: 'We blew it against the s*****est f***ing team in the f***ing world'". SB Nation. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Taylor, Allan (June 27, 2018). "Schmitt's Saloon closes its doors". The Dominion Post. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ Campbell, Colleen (June 27, 2018). "Schmitt's Saloon closes, new BBQ business prepares to move in". Bridgeport, WV: WDTV. Retrieved November 12, 2018.