Johns Hopkins athletics photo

By Riley Zayas
Special to D3football.com

When Luke Schuermann arrived on campus at Johns Hopkins in the spring of 2021, it did not take the Blue Jay coaching staff long to confirm that they had a special talent on their hands. 

“We all knew right away, in that first year as he started to go, that this guy was a special player,” JHU defensive coordinator Dan Wodicka, who was the program’s defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at the time, said. 

Just how special? In three years on the field at JHU, the St. Louis native is the two-time reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time First Team D3football.com All-America selection, and a nightmare matchup for opposing offensive lines. 

Defense Week features

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• Robert Coury, Carnegie Mellon
• Owen Grover, Wartburg
• Caleb Harmel, Trinity (Texas)
• Rossy Moore, Mount Union
• Luke Schuermann, Johns Hopkins
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Through seven games, Schuermann, a broad-shouldered defensive end who stands at 6-4, 225 pounds, has 8.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss. But stats are one of the last things on his mind when he steps onto the field. 

“If I’m going outside of the framework of the defense to make plays, it isn’t going to help the team,” Schuermann said. “My focus is just, ‘Let me do whatever I can to help the team win. Whatever comes with that comes with it.’ That’s worked out pretty well for me so far.” 

Most would agree. Schuermann has been so good in fact, that it has drawn the attention of NFL teams as he progresses through his senior year. At least five teams in the league have either sent representatives to watch practice or requested game video and measurables within the last year. 

“It’s an awesome opportunity,’ Schuermann noted of the NFL interest. “I feel very blessed to be in the position that I’m at. I attribute a lot of that to coaches, the program, and my teammates. Right now, I’m just trying to focus on the season, stay healthy, and take it one week at a time.”

While his immediate focus is rightfully on No. 8 JHU’s push for the Centennial Conference title, which continues on Saturday in a matchup of unbeatens against 21st-ranked Muhlenberg, Schuermann recognizes the significance of the attention he is receiving in Baltimore and on a national scale. As Wodicka noted, Schuermann’s individual success has also led to more attention on JHU as a whole. 

“Obviously, everybody’s dream is to go play big-time Division I football,” Wodicka added. “But I think it shows that we’re getting guys who have Division I talent, and for X, Y, or Z reasons, maybe it’s a size issue or for us, it’s an academic situation that is perfect for them. It shows that if you really work hard and focus in, you have a chance to have some NFL attention and go on to the next level.” 

Schuermann earned opportunities to play at the D-I level following a stellar senior year at St. Louis University High. The University of Iowa offered him as a preferred walk-on, and several other FCS programs also extended offers. But Schuermann was drawn to Johns Hopkins and even more generally, the D-III level as a whole.

“For me the D-III experience has been phenomenal,” Schuermann said. “Obviously you have a great balance of playing high-level football and taking great classes. The coaches and program are good about balancing it all, and making sure we’re set up well for jobs in the future. 

“In terms of coming to play D-III, the biggest thing for me is that it’s very clear everyone is here because they love the game of football. Nobody is on scholarship. Nobody really gets any benefit from it, other than just getting to play football. I think that’s a special thing about D3. I love being a part of a team that is like that.” 

It is not hard to see, even in a short conversation with Schuermann, that the humility with which he stepped onto campus three and a half years ago has not faded in the slightest. It directly correlates to the work ethic seen from the standout defensive end on a daily basis by those around the program. 

“There are a lot of guys who will know they’re talented and say, ‘I’m dominant. I don’t need to work too hard in the film room,’ ” Wodicka said. “That couldn’t be more opposite of Luke. Every single week, he’s texting me, our defensive line coach, Coach Rio (Byrd), letting us know what he’s seeing up front and things we could possibly put into our gameplan. 

“You obviously don’t see it on the field from a fan perspective, but he prepares himself well mentally heading into each game. He knows exactly what the tackles are doing, what the guards are doing. He knows what the entire defensive line should be doing, which is rare at that position.”

That preparedness has served Schuermann well throughout the course of his time in Baltimore. He has only played two full seasons for JHU, and both have ended with numerous individual accolades. The year prior to that, 2020, the Blue Jays, like the rest of D-III, did not have a season due to the COVID pandemic, and for an incoming freshman, it was the least ideal time to make the often-difficult jump from the high school to the college level. 

But interestingly, as he looks back on that time now three years later, he sees the benefits that it had on his development as a player. 

“That COVID year was honestly huge for me,” Schuermann said. “I hadn’t fully understood the ins and outs of playing football and D-line especially, with all of the very specific technique things. I think as a program as a whole that year, we did an incredible job of getting everyone on the same page. 

Though the team was not on campus for the fall semester, Schuermann utilized the unique situation to further study on JHU’s defensive schemes from previous seasons, taking “mental reps” that he could apply to his skill set. In addition, as he was at home in St. Louis for the fall, he helped coach at his high school alma mater, furthering his ability to see the game from a slightly different perspective. 

“It obviously wasn’t an ideal situation for anybody, but it was beneficial for him,” Wodicka added. “It was interesting for him to have a redshirt freshman year almost, and learn everything from a mental side of things. Physically, in the weight room, he had the year, and he surrounded himself with as much football as possible to be ready to go when he finally got that start as a sophomore.” 

Playing rugby also contributed to Schuermann’s training in the lead-up to his college career, as he suited up for the St. Louis University High rugby team for his final two years of high school. While his game action was limited, first due to injury, and later as a result of COVID, he had high praise for the sport when asked about how it translated to his football skill set. 

“Technique-wise, especially tackling, and protecting myself when I’m tackling, rugby was huge for my development,” Schuermann said. “It also builds some of that toughness and grit that goes along with playing a pretty physical sport. To anyone who wants to play football, I would also recommend playing rugby. I think a lot of the skills translate really well.” 

That “toughness and grit” will be put on full display in Saturday’s must-see Top 25 matchup at Muhlenberg. It is one of those annual contests, especially as of late, that is circled on the calendars of both programs and their respective fan bases. JHU won last year’s matchup at home, 34-27, but has not beaten the Mules on the road since 2017.

“It’s definitely a big one,” Schuermann said of the upcoming matchup. “In my experience and the experience of pretty much everyone who has played in this game, it’s going to be a dogfight. Two teams that have been good year-in and year-out. We’re never looking ahead, but it’s always the one we have circled because we’ve had so many good games against them in past years.” 

Riley Zayas is co-founder of the website True to the Cru, which covers Mary Hardin-Baylor athletics.