Luke Schoonmaker 'Unleashed!' Rookie Ends Cowboys Summer in Style
Schoonmaker was a scoremaker for the first time on Saturday night.
In a happy ending to an arduous first summer as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, rookie tight end Luke Schoonmaker was one of the scorers in the Pokes' 31-16 preseason-concluding victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night at AT&T Stadium.
Saturday's score afforded Schoonmaker a chance to go out on a high note, capping the game with 14 yards total.
Fresh off All-Big Ten honors and a College Football Playoff appearance at Michigan, Schoonmaker was one of the more intriguing second-round picks of the most recent draft, especially with the Cowboys (2-1) dealing with the inevitability of losing Dalton Schultz. Summer injuries, however, marred his freshman development and perhaps caused him to lose ground in the tight end race currently headlined by Jake Ferguson.
But Schoonmaker has enjoyed finding a role among the "Four Horsemen," a name that the fellas have bestowed on Cowboys' tight end room that also features lingering veterans Ferguson, Peyton Hendershot, and Sean McKeon. These final hours of training camp have shown that Schoonmaker has left an impression beyond his fellow riders.
"(He) missed a lot of time early and he's done a nice job with his opportunities," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy noted in a report from CowboysSI.com's Daniel Flick. "Football comes natural to him. You can tell he's high in his awareness, but good to see him get into the flow of the offense."
In that same write-up, Saturday's victorious quarterback Will Grier referred to Schoonmaker as a "big body (and) big target" who's destined for great things.
"I think he is going to be a good player," Grier, the thrower of Schoonmaker's touchdown, said. "I like what he’s doing.”
Time will tell just how many of Schoonmaker's fellow Horsemen remain when the 53-man roster forms. Those who survive will face the New York Giants in prime time on Sept. 10 to open the regular season (7:20 p.m. CT, NBC).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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