SE: Schoen's Emergence as K-State WR Preceded by Years of Preparation
Oct 11, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Before Dalton Schoen became K-State's leading receiver in terms of yards (269) and touchdowns (3), he was a walk-on who earned the reputation as a "work" or an "extra" guy.
When a quarterback needed additional reps after practice, Schoen was the first to volunteer. Otherwise, he would be out there catching balls off the Jugs machine.
"You could call him up any time to watch film or catch routes after practice and he's going to be that guy who wants to do that," backup quarterback Alex Delton said. "He's a work guy and I really appreciate that."
"The way he works every day, doing extra work at weights, doing extra work after practice, it's paying off," defensive end Kyle Ball added. "It's showing up on the field."
Schoen, a redshirt sophomore, collected a career-high 128 yards and two touchdowns on five catches against Texas. It marked the most receiving yards by a K-State receiver ever against the Longhorns. His total is also the second-most receiving yards in a game by a K-State sophomore, and it was the most by a Wildcat underclassman since Kevin Lockett totaled 136 yards as a freshman in 1993.
"He's a program person. He's a young guy that buys into it, that believes it. He's a proponent of those 16 Wildcat Goals. He's a young guy that every day you know he's going to give his best effort on the practice field, and he's always going to do what he's asked to do and he's going to do it the way you ask him to do it, and he's going to do it as hard and as passionate as he possibly can," K-State head coach Bill Snyder said of Schoen on Monday's Big 12 teleconference. "That has just allowed him, which it will for anybody who chooses to take that path, it allows him to become better and better. So he's ready for his opportunity when it arises."
Before Snyder described Schoen as a "program person," the 6-foot-1 receiver had a number of players to follow. From Stanton Weber, Schoen's "Big Brother" in the program who's now an Offensive GA at K-State, to senior linebacker Trent Tanking, Schoen had many examples of how to work his way up the depth chart as a walk-on.
"I think it definitely helps a lot because, coming in for anyone, it's tough because there's just so much unknown, but even more so as a walk-on," Schoen said. "It's nice to have somebody who will kind of step you through the process and say, 'Hey, this is what you should do if you want to have a chance. This is what you have to do to show the coaches you deserve to be here.'"
Before Schoen's breakout performance against Texas that included an 82-yard touchdown grab — the ninth-longest pass play in school history — came years of preparation.
His ability to shake defenders who may be faster or more athletic than him was made possible by his studious approach to the game. Whether it was watching receivers and defenders on TV and film, or learning through his hands-on experience on scout team, Schoen took advantage of every chance to improve his route-running abilities.
"I'm not the fastest guy, so it can be tough if the corners have more physical ability than me," said Schoen, with 11 catches this season and a 24.5 yards-per-catch average to rank sixth nationally. "Running a good route is key to kind of trick them and get them out of position with the way I run my route."
Before the Blue Valley Northwest product became a reliable threat for K-State, he bought into a message often relayed by K-State receivers coach Andre Coleman: Don't get complacent.
"That kind of rings true to me. I just always try to make sure I stay after practice to catch off the quarterback, catch off the Jugs machine just because I don't want to have that feeling of dropping the ball in front of a bunch of fans," Schoen said. "I try to not get complacent with it, try to continuously work on it and make sure I feel confident because the confidence comes from preparation. So I know if I've stayed after for a bunch of hours catching balls after practice, I should feel confident going into the games that I'm going to make the catch."
As his play continues to garner more attention from opposing defenses, Schoen does not plan to change a thing. He wants to stick to what got him here before.
"It seems to have worked so far," Schoen said, as K-State hosts No. 6 TCU on Saturday at 11 a.m. "So I'm going to try to just keep it rolling and keep being consistent with how I've been working."
Before Dalton Schoen became K-State's leading receiver in terms of yards (269) and touchdowns (3), he was a walk-on who earned the reputation as a "work" or an "extra" guy.
When a quarterback needed additional reps after practice, Schoen was the first to volunteer. Otherwise, he would be out there catching balls off the Jugs machine.
"You could call him up any time to watch film or catch routes after practice and he's going to be that guy who wants to do that," backup quarterback Alex Delton said. "He's a work guy and I really appreciate that."
"The way he works every day, doing extra work at weights, doing extra work after practice, it's paying off," defensive end Kyle Ball added. "It's showing up on the field."
Schoen, a redshirt sophomore, collected a career-high 128 yards and two touchdowns on five catches against Texas. It marked the most receiving yards by a K-State receiver ever against the Longhorns. His total is also the second-most receiving yards in a game by a K-State sophomore, and it was the most by a Wildcat underclassman since Kevin Lockett totaled 136 yards as a freshman in 1993.
"He's a program person. He's a young guy that buys into it, that believes it. He's a proponent of those 16 Wildcat Goals. He's a young guy that every day you know he's going to give his best effort on the practice field, and he's always going to do what he's asked to do and he's going to do it the way you ask him to do it, and he's going to do it as hard and as passionate as he possibly can," K-State head coach Bill Snyder said of Schoen on Monday's Big 12 teleconference. "That has just allowed him, which it will for anybody who chooses to take that path, it allows him to become better and better. So he's ready for his opportunity when it arises."
Before Snyder described Schoen as a "program person," the 6-foot-1 receiver had a number of players to follow. From Stanton Weber, Schoen's "Big Brother" in the program who's now an Offensive GA at K-State, to senior linebacker Trent Tanking, Schoen had many examples of how to work his way up the depth chart as a walk-on.
"I think it definitely helps a lot because, coming in for anyone, it's tough because there's just so much unknown, but even more so as a walk-on," Schoen said. "It's nice to have somebody who will kind of step you through the process and say, 'Hey, this is what you should do if you want to have a chance. This is what you have to do to show the coaches you deserve to be here.'"
Before Schoen's breakout performance against Texas that included an 82-yard touchdown grab — the ninth-longest pass play in school history — came years of preparation.
Schoen = Beautiful.
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) October 8, 2017
82 Yard Touchdown pass.#KStateFB 10 - Texas 0 pic.twitter.com/LSgZ5AeM3K
His ability to shake defenders who may be faster or more athletic than him was made possible by his studious approach to the game. Whether it was watching receivers and defenders on TV and film, or learning through his hands-on experience on scout team, Schoen took advantage of every chance to improve his route-running abilities.
"I'm not the fastest guy, so it can be tough if the corners have more physical ability than me," said Schoen, with 11 catches this season and a 24.5 yards-per-catch average to rank sixth nationally. "Running a good route is key to kind of trick them and get them out of position with the way I run my route."
Before the Blue Valley Northwest product became a reliable threat for K-State, he bought into a message often relayed by K-State receivers coach Andre Coleman: Don't get complacent.
"That kind of rings true to me. I just always try to make sure I stay after practice to catch off the quarterback, catch off the Jugs machine just because I don't want to have that feeling of dropping the ball in front of a bunch of fans," Schoen said. "I try to not get complacent with it, try to continuously work on it and make sure I feel confident because the confidence comes from preparation. So I know if I've stayed after for a bunch of hours catching balls after practice, I should feel confident going into the games that I'm going to make the catch."
As his play continues to garner more attention from opposing defenses, Schoen does not plan to change a thing. He wants to stick to what got him here before.
"It seems to have worked so far," Schoen said, as K-State hosts No. 6 TCU on Saturday at 11 a.m. "So I'm going to try to just keep it rolling and keep being consistent with how I've been working."
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