SE: Schoen Climbs into K-State WR Rotation, Continues Living Childhood Dream

Considering Dalton Schoen had Bill Snyder's 16 Goals for Success taped to his bathroom mirror years before he walked on at K-State, it's no surprise that he can rattle all 16 off in about 14 seconds.

Schoen's favorite is another non-shocker: No. 12 — No Self-Limitations.

"I think that fits me perfectly," Schoen said in Tuesday's press conference, when he broke down his 70-yard touchdown grab last Saturday against Central Arkansas — the longest reception by a Wildcat on their first career catch since 2001 — over and over again.

The actual play, one K-State ran earlier in the game and one Schoen told senior quarterback Jesse Ertz would leave him open in the middle of the field, was more than an exclamation point to K-State's 21-point explosion to end the first half.

????"Going deep...and has Schoen!"

Listen to the call of Dalton Schoen's first career reception...a 70-yard touchdown.#EMAW #KStateFB pic.twitter.com/vObAOneF8q
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) September 6, 2017

It was another elated moment along what Schoen said has been three years of a continuous "dream come true." It was also more proof that by living through those 16 Goals he saw each morning and night growing up, doors would open to opportunities he once thought impossible.

"It's just all kind of surreal. I've been dreaming about this for as long as I can remember, so to actually go out there and do it was unbelievable and a dream come true," said the redshirt sophomore walk-on receiver, whose favorite Wildcat growing up was Jordy Nelson. "It just shows that if you don't put any limitations on yourself, you keep working, you keep striving, you keep buying into the program every day, anything can happen."

Schoen has lived much of his life without normal limitations. An all-state athlete in football, basketball and baseball for Blue Valley Northwest, where he was also a straight-A student, Schoen said his high school schedule prepared him "really well" for what was to come at K-State.

Becoming a Wildcat was never a sure thing, however.

Schoen visited many colleges during his senior year of high school, ranging from Ivy and Patriot League schools to Division III colleges with solid academic programs and even Oklahoma State for an opportunity to walk on.

But the dream was always K-State. It's where Schoen's parents went to college, where his older brother, Mason, is a fifth-year senior walk-on for the men's basketball team and where he could pursue his educational passion in mechanical engineering.

"That was why it's always been a dream to come here because obviously the football program is fantastic, but K-State also has a wonderful engineering program with great facilities over there as well," he said. "So I knew it would be a great fit if I got the opportunity."

Still, receiving the offer to walk on at K-State "took a while," Schoen said. To get the ball rolling, the 6-foot-1 receiver sent in film from the first game of his senior season, when he reeled in 12 passes for a state-record 380 yards that included four touchdowns against Bishop Miege.

Conversations continued between Schoen and K-State's coaching staff, but nothing was guaranteed during his all-state senior season.

"I had been talking to them and they were like, 'I don't know if it's ever going to happen,' just because we were pretty full here at receiver," he said, "but then in the spring a couple of things shook up the right way for me and they came through with a spot for me.

"Once that opportunity presented itself, I was all in."

Starting as a walk-on at the bottom of the totem pole was not an easy pill to swallow, but Schoen found motivation to succeed in every little way possible. Each drill, lift and sprint was an opportunity to both prove and improve. Each stage of his still-young journey fueled him to reach the next, from playing on scout team to earning second team reps last spring to rotating with the Wildcats' starters this fall camp.

"I knew when I came here, I'd get an opportunity, I'd get a chance. But I knew I'd have to work for it for quite some time, which is what I've been doing for the past three years is just working to get better, improve, buy into the program and learn as much as I could about our offense," Schoen said. "When I first got here, I had a feeling that maybe someday down the road I could contribute, but I knew it was going to be a long road, with a lot of work."

The thing is, Schoen loves heavy workloads and hectic schedules. He always has. It's one reason he always felt a magnetic pull to Snyder's program.

"You really just have to dig deep, work hard and fight for everything that you can get. That's what I've been trying to do, and just constantly improve because I think that's kind of what this program is all about is getting better every single day," he said. "You're never going to reach a point when you're done working but you can reach a point where you can contribute to the team. That's what I've been trying to do."

In his third year at K-State, Schoen has reached that point. He's among a deep and lethal group of Wildcat receivers that accounted for three touchdown passes of 50-plus yards — a first in Snyder's 26 seasons at K-State — last week.

"It's been a dream come true," Schoen said. "Working my way up from scout team to finally getting in with the twos, and to just keep working and working and finally getting on the field and being put in the opportunity to make a play like that was just incredible. I don't even really know how to describe it."

What Schoen does know is what's next. For the No. 19 Wildcats, it's a home match-up with Charlotte on Saturday at 11 a.m. Personally, it's more of the same.

"I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing here, keep buying into the program and keep working to get better," he said. "I'm not really too focused on myself. I just want the team to succeed. I hope we can keep winning and keep the ball rolling because we know what we're capable of and the opportunity we have before us this season."

SE: Schoen Climbs into K-State WR Rotation, Continues Living Childhood Dream

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jesse Ertz

Dalton Schoen

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Schoen Climbs into K-State WR Rotation, Continues Living Childhood Dream

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jesse Ertz

Dalton Schoen

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