Jon Schnaars, ESU Warriors
It comes natural for just about everyone to want to do better at anything they do. Be a better student, better athlete, better spouse and so on. For Jon Schnaars, former wide receiver from East Stroudsburg University and 2016 NFL Draft hopeful, his way of being better seemingly came out of nowhere and it was a conversation that started as a joke that possibly changed everything for him.
“Heading into this last season, over the summer, I was just with a couple of guys on the team and we were just sitting around talking around the TV and I put some pretty big goals for myself. I was like ‘you know what, this is my last season and if I’m going to get the chance to do something, this has to be it’. My friends saw the goals I set for myself and they were like ‘come on dude, be a little bit more realistic’ and even looking back at it now I’m like ‘OK maybe that’s shooting for the stars’ but this season I just exploded’.
Schnaars remembers this conversation he had with teammates before the start of their 2015 season, Jon’s senior year. He told teammates some of the goals he had but those goals many thought were impossible reach, were eventually achieved.
He went on to rip it up in the 2015 campaign for the ESU Warriors, posting up some ridiculous stats en route to being named an AP ‘Little’ All-American. He nearly doubled all of his stats from his Junior Year recording 114 catches, good for 1610 yards with 22 touchdowns. He averaged 10.4 catches per game with 146.4 yards per game.
Consensus All-America 1st team selection … named to AP Little All-America team (ESU’s first 1st team selection since 2008 – P Nick Krut) … AFCA All-America (ESU’s first since 1991 – S Curtis Bunch) … D2CCA All-America 1st team … D2Football.com All-America 1st team … Football Gazette All-America 1st team … one of 7 DII players named to all 5 All-America 1st teams … All-PSAC East 1st team (2nd team as junior) … led DII in receptions per game (10.4), receiving yards per game (146.4) and receiving TD (22) … ESU record 114 catches (2nd in PSAC history) … 2nd at ESU with 1,610 yards (3rd in PSAC) … 2nd at ESU with 22 TD (t-2nd in PSAC history) … top 15 in DII history in all 3 categories (10th in receptions, 15th in yards and t-7th in TD).
Schnaars’ insane year put him on the map and had a lot of people talking about his possible NFL dreams but this is nothing new to him, he’s wanted to take his talents to the highest level possible since he was a kid. It’s every athletes dream to make it to the professional league of their liking and coming out of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area from Central Dauphin High School, the receiver was just grateful for his chance at ESU.
“You know, as a kid I always wanted to make it to the next level. From being young I wanted to play on the High School team, then I wanted to move on to college but when I got to ESU, that wasn’t where my mind was to start. I kind of saw it as an opportunity to come in, play the sport I love with my friends and it was fun but this last year is really where I got my time to shine and made the most out of it.”
Schnaars talents were on full display and it came as a surprise to some, especially to those scouts looking to target his teammate, quarterback and one of his best friends, Matt Soltes. There was no denying that the duo was the real deal in 2015.
“Teams came in and they have been scouting Soltes for a while because he’s been a pretty big deal for a little bit now because obviously he’s been a heck of a player since he was a freshman. Team’s started coming in and they weren’t just asking about him, they wanted to see me and see my film too. Since we were freshman, the idea of both of us going to the NFL was something we would just mess around with. He got his big chance a lot earlier than me so it was easier for him but just to look back at what we did together at East Stroudsburg is amazing. For us to be in the same breath as some of the great ESU quarterback-receiver duos is pretty special and those great duos reaching out to us was a pretty amazing feeling. It’s great me and Soltes both have this opportunity because I’m rooting for him as much as I’m rooting for myself because he is one of my best friends. When we’re together, we’re basically inseparable, if you saw one of us on campus, the other was pretty near by so that would just be a dream come true.”
After his senior season came to an end with some pretty eye-opening numbers, it was time for him to start training, getting in the weight room and working on things that he and his trainer both knew would be pivotal to his success going forward. To make sure he made the most out of his combines and pro days, Schnaars got in the gym and began working right before Christmas.
‘I made great progress in lifting from where I was. I came into college lifting at 190, 195 weighing 175 soaking wet. I came into college and moved into with a bunch of older guys who were just huge and would drag me into the gym even when I didn’t want to. I started developing a love for weightlifting and I started to get stronger throughout the years. I came home on December 14th and started a lifting program with my trainer and we would just increase the training a little more as we went on. We prepared for different things like the combine and different pro days and especially prepared for the 40 (yard dash) which has a lot to do with speed but also has to do with technique. We worked on shuttle and I ran the fastest shuttle from a receiver, anywhere. We also worked on my vertical and receiver drills but I’ve done that stuff since I was a kid, so it was great to work on those skills and continue to get better.”
Schnaars has worked on so many different facets to his game since he first walked onto ESU’s campus right off Prospect Street. His showcased his talents in preparation for the draft as he attended the Baltimore Regional Combine, tested at Villanova’s pro day and he ran routes for Penn State quarterback and fellow 2016 NFL draft hopeful Christian Hackenberg during his pro day.
Standing at 6’2″, weighing in at 209 pounds Schnaars’ is right in the zone of where you want an NFL wide receiver to be. His measurables include his hands at 9 and 3/4 inches, a 6’5″ wingspan, L-Drill coming in at 7.0, 20 yard shuttle drill at 4.03, a vertical of 34.5, broad jump of 9’8″ and a 4.59 40 yard dash, which rank among some of the best wide receivers that attended the 2016 NFL Combine. Yet despite those fantastic numbers, it’s the intangibles that he believes separates him from the rest.
“I’ve shown every year throughout my football career that if you just throw the ball up at me I’m going to catch it. Maybe I wasn’t the fastest guy or strongest guy but my effort has been top-notch. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, you put someone or a task in front of me and I got to make the play every time. I’m getting better every day and I continue to work hard and I’ll do whatever a team needs me to do. If a team needs me to be a receiver anywhere on the field, I can do it and something I bring to the field that isn’t on the stat sheet is blocking. Coaches made sure we worked on our blocking and I just made sure I never took a play off. Coming from a small school, I’m going to prove myself. Coming from East Stroudsburg, we don’t have the same money or equipment or facilities like guys in the SEC or Big Ten so we have to work twice as hard and coach always said if you’re coming to East Stroudsburg University to play football, it’s because you love the game.”
Jon’s strengths, both on and off the field, are things that NFL teams want on their roster. A man who is committed to perfecting his craft, working on his game and making himself better every day at any chance available but with the positives, there are negatives. The weaknesses in his game don’t hold him back, he just sees them as opportunities to get better.
“The big weakness that showed up a couple of times is my top speed and the reality is, you’re never really running a clean fourty yard dash. It’s a thing you need to excel, having top speed is crucial and you see guys like DeSean Jackson kill it mostly because of their speed. It’s something I’ve worked on my whole life, coming into college I ran a 5.0 flat (40 yard dash) and I’ve gotten it down every year and my game translates better on the field beyond speed. The rest of my game is down pat and it is something I’ve worked on but just like everything else it’s just another thing I need to get better at. Another thing others said was weak was my blocking because I was the ‘focal point’ of the offense and they didn’t see much footage of me blocking. If you ask any of my coaches, I blocked my rear end off on every play and I never took a play off because you never know who was watching. My opponents hated me for it but I never took a play off and I gave it 110% on every play. But everyone says whatever they’re going to say about my weaknesses but that’s good, I like that, I like critics, I want that. I’m going to try to translate that and get better every time I work out. I criticize myself when I watch film, I don’t watch what I do that’s good, I watch to see what I do wrong to try to make myself better every play.”
Overall, the process for Schnaars’ has been one that has shown him a lot. He’s worked with some great people and he follows the guidance of many including his agent, his trainer, family and friends. At the end of the day, the feedback he’s received from scouts, teams and everyone on the outside mean something to him also as he follows that dream of his.
“I’ve gotten positive feedback from all of the combines I’ve been too. Teams have talked to me and my agent and teams have put out interest about me and saying they were looking into me. I don’t know what going to happen come draft day, it’s a big mystery and I’m not too sure. I’ve heard some things from scouts and guys who do the rankings that it could be a late round draft pick or I could just could sign a free agent contract. It would be great to get draft but getting a tryout with a team is the ultimate goal.”
Whether or not he is selected during the 2016 NFL Draft, which begins Thursday, April 28th and culminates on Saturday, April 30th, or if he is signed to a free agent contract following the draft, he wants to be surrounded by the people who matter the most to him.
“For draft night, we’ll probably play it by ear when it gets closer to there. I don’t want to be out and about or anything because it’s still a big unknown but I still want to be surrounded by my friends and family because if that opportunity does come up I want to share it with the people who have believed in me going this far.”
If those close to him are holding him up or celebrating alongside him, those people are the ones who get to celebrate that moment with him. The culmination of a lifetime of work, blood, sweat, tears, grass, helmets and everything in between has surrounded Jon’s life as he went through everything including pursuing a career in Law, recently passing the LSAT’s. But at the end of the day, he knows what this opportunity might mean for him.
“If I do get a call like that from a team wanting to bring me in, I’m going to need to hold on to someone or something because I’m probably going to pass out. It would just go to show all the hard work I’ve put in since the second grade has worked. It’s taking what everyone told me about not being able to play at the next level since I was a kid and proving them wrong. I believe in myself and my friends and family believe in me but at the end of the day I can only control what I can control. I’m going to do everything in my power to prove my friends, family and loved ones right but it doesn’t stop there. Getting that call would mean just the start of something new. It would show that I played this game for a reason. It would be a great thing to have.”
Something that started as a little joke in the summer of 2015 might result in a life changing result in the summer of 2016 and if there’s one thing Jon Schnaars’ is besides talented, he’s ready. He’s ready for this opportunity and hungry to do more, prove more and showcase his talents to the world.