Cowboys EXCLUSIVE: TE Luke Schoonmaker Drafted; ‘I Care So Much!’
FRISCO - Through four years at the University of Michigan, tight end Luke Schoonmaker - the Dallas Cowboys’ second-round pick in this NFL Dreft - caught only 19 passes.
The Hamden, Connecticut native easily could've left, gone somewhere else - but he stuck it out ... and just over a year later, watched as it all paid off.
As a redshirt senior, Schoonmaker nearly doubled his production, posting 35 receptions for 418 yards and three touchdowns while earning All-Big Ten honors.
And now he’s a Cowboy. In our recent 1-on-1 interview, what did Schoonmaker pledge to bring up his NFL team?
“They're going to be getting someone that really just cares so much about the team," Schoonmaker said. "You're going to get somebody that is willing to do whatever it takes - whatever I'm asked, I'm going to do it, as hard as I can.
“I'll be someone that a team can rely on and make great relationships with my teammates and coaches and bring wins to that team."
Schoonmaker is 6-6, 250. His father, Scott, played college basketball at Assumption College and later professionally in Brazil, while younger brother Jack played college football at Saint Anselm and is now set for a career in the Marines.
Now, Luke looks to follow in his father's footsteps as a professional athlete - and his breakout 2022 season has left teams wondering how high his ceiling will be.
The Cowboys wanted a tight end in this draft; contrary to many reports, as we’ve reported, that was No smokescreen. And this pick of Schoonmaker's - maybe a reach to some - proves that.
Still, Schoonmaker is an athlete. And he produced in his finial season at Ann Arbor (where he was a teammate of Dallas’ first-round pick defensive tackle Mazi Smith). And part of the 24-year-old’s self-scouting?
He cares. A lot.
During Schoonmaker's freshman year, Michigan went 10-3 - including a blowout home loss to rival Ohio State in a do-or-die regular season finale.The year after, the Wolverines went 9-4 ... with another loss to the Buckeyes. In 2020, Michigan trudged through the COVID-plagued season with a 2-4 record and didn't play Ohio State due to pandemic-related issues.
Factor in the lack of production and Schoonmaker's first three years largely hadn't gone as he had hoped - but in his third go-round in "The Game," things changed.
Michigan took a program-changing victory over Ohio State, its first in over a decade, and clinched the Big Ten East title, subsequently making it the College Football Playoffs for the first time in program history.
The Wolverines did the same thing again in 2022 - but nothing meant as much to Schoonmaker as the experiences made during the breakthrough win in 2021.
“I broke down at the end of the game," Schoonmaker said.
That win was the highlight of Schoonmaker's career - followed by the back-to-back conference championships and College Football Playoff trips.
And really, perhaps nothing depicts Schoonmaker more than that idea.In the victory over Ohio State, he had two catches for 15 yards and helped block for running back Hassan Haskins en route to five rushing touchdowns.
But it wasn't about the individual numbers or accolades - it never was. Instead, it's about the team - leaving Schoonmaker's Michigan legacy clear in his eyes.
"I think it was someone that the team relied on," said Schoonmaker. "Someone that stepped up in big games and could play really well consistently. Just reliable on the third downs, in the red zone, and I only hope that I left an impact of being a great teammate, that I was coachable, and I left a great legacy of helping the team, bringing that greatness back to Michigan."
Schoonmaker just wants to win and get better - and the Cowboys think his past shows he's more than capable of doing exactly that.
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