Luke Schoonmaker (/ˈskuːnˌmeɪkər/ SKOON-may-kər; born September 28, 1998) is an American professional football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan and was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.
 Schoonmaker in 2021 | |||||||||
| No. 86 – Dallas Cowboys | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | September 28, 1998 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Hamden Hall (Hamden, Connecticut) | ||||||||
| College: | Michigan (2018–2022) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2023 / round: 2 / pick: 58 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2024 | |||||||||
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Early life
editBorn in 1998, Schoonmaker grew up in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He attended Xavier High School, where he was a teammate of future NFL quarterback Will Levis. He transferred to Hamden Hall Country Day School after his sophomore season.[1]
As a junior, he missed time after being diagnosed with mononucleosis and suffering a ruptured spleen, which forced him to repeat the year. The next season he was the starter at quarterback, leading the team to an 11-0 record and winning the NEPSAC Mike Atkins Bowl. He also played some offensive snaps at the tight end position.[2]
As a fifth year senior, he completed 18 passes, caught 22 passes, and carried as a rusher 34 times, while tallying 851 yards in combined passing, receiving and rushing yards.[3] Rated as the top player in Connecticut, he committed to play college football at the University of Michigan.[4]
College career
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Schoonmaker played for the Michigan Wolverines from 2018 until 2022.[5][3][6] As a freshman in 2018, he appeared in one game as a backup tight end, earning his first varsity letter.
As a sophomore in 2019, he appeared in 10 games and played as the fourth tight end in 9 contests, behind Sean McKeon, Nick Eubanks and Erick All. He only played on special teams in the tenth game against Michigan State University. He finished with 2 catches for 54 yards and one touchdown.[7] On October 12, 2019, he scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Shea Patterson.
As a junior in 2020, the schedule was limited to only 6 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He appeared in all six games as the third-string tight end behind Eubanks and All, but did not register any offensive stats.
As a senior in 2021, although he was the backup tight end behind All, he was able to start 10 games, when the team opened in a two-tight end formation. He was used mainly for his blocking and was part of a unit that won the Joe Moore Award as the nation's top offensive line. He appeared in nine games and caught 17 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns.[8] He earned a reputation as Michigan's "most reliable blocking tight end and a player who never complained about his touches."[9] After the 2021 season, Schoonmaker received honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors.[10]
In January 2022, with eligibility remaining, Schooonmaker announced that he would return to Michigan as a fifth-year senior.[11] In July, he was named to the watch list for the Mackey Award.[12] He was also rated by NFL scouts as Michigan's most draftable player among the team's senior players.[9]
In 2022, the starter at tight end All, appeared in the first three games (3 catches for 36 yards), before requiring back surgery, which opened the door for Schoonmaker to start for the rest of the season.[13] On September 24, Schoonmaker caught a career-high seven passes for 72 yards and a touchdown against Maryland.[14] Against Indiana on October 8, he established another career-high with nine receptions, adding 67 receiving yards and a touchdown.[15] He suffered an AC joint sprain to his left shoulder in the ninth game against Rutgers University, which forced him to miss the next two contests. He was forced to leave the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Texas Christian University in the second quarter, after suffering a right shoulder injury. He finished the season with 12 appearances (11 starts), 35 receptions (second on the team), 418 receiving yards (third on the team) and 3 touchdowns.[16] He also contributed to the offensive line winning the Joe Moore Award for the second straight year.[17]
In December 2022, he accepted an invite to the East–West Shrine Bowl.[18] On January 9, 2023, Schoonmaker announced he would forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2023 NFL draft.[19]
College statistics
edit| Michigan Wolverines | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | Receiving | |||
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 2 | 54 | 27.0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 14 | 17 | 165 | 9.7 | 3 |
| 2022 | 12 | 35 | 418 | 11.9 | 3 |
| Career | 43 | 54 | 637 | 11.8 | 7 |
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5+1⁄4 in (1.96 m) |
251 lb (114 kg) |
32+7⁄8 in (0.84 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
4.63 s | 1.59 s | 2.70 s | 4.27 s | 6.81 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) |
10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) | ||
| Sources:[20][21] | ||||||||||||
Schoonmaker was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round, 58th overall, of the 2023 NFL Draft.[22] In Week 2 against the Jets, he scored his first NFL touchdown on a one-yard reception.[23] As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 games. He finishd with eight receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns in the 2023 season.[24]
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2023 | DAL | 12 | 0 | 7 | 61 | 8.7 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 10 | 0 | 5 | 37 | 7.4 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ Aldam, Will (April 28, 2023). "Hamden Hall's Luke Schoonmaker selected by Dallas Cowboys with the 58th pick in the NFL Draft". CT Insider. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ Jacobs, Jeff (April 19, 2023). "How Michigan's Luke Schoonmaker went from high school QB to high NFL draft prosect at tight end". CT Insider. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Luke Schoonmaker". University of Michigan. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- ^ "3-star TE commits to '18 class". Livingston County Daily Press and Argus. July 28, 2017. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Zuke, Ryan (August 10, 2022). "Bulked up Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker feeling 'fast and physical' heading into 2022". mlive. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Hunte, Sydney (August 10, 2022). "Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker discusses strength and conditioning work, 'standard set' for him 2022". Saturday Tradition. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Luke Schoonmaker 2019 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Luke Schoonmaker College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ a b Michael Cohen (August 10, 2022). "Why some NFL scouts view TE Luke Schoonmaker as Michigan football's top prospect this year". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ Angelique S. Chengelis (August 10, 2022). "Wolverines expecting bigger, better things from tight ends Erick All and Luke Schoonmaker". The Detroit News.
- ^ Woods, Trevor (January 11, 2022). "Luke Schoonmaker returning in 2022". Maize n Brew. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Trent Knoop (July 22, 2022). "Two Michigan football tight ends on John Mackey Award Watch list". USA Today.
- ^ Garcia, Tony (October 24, 2022). "Michigan football tight end Erick All ruled out for the season after surgery". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ Zuke, Ryan (September 25, 2022). "With no Erick All, Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker emerges as go-to target". mlive. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Michigan 31, Indiana 10". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Michigan Football Statistics". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ Bailey, Andrew (December 17, 2022). "Michigan Wins Second Joe Moore Award". Maize n Brew. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Garcia, Tony (January 9, 2023). "Michigan football's Luke Schoonmaker declares for 2023 NFL draft". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (January 9, 2023). "Michigan to lose top TE Luke Schoonmaker to 2023 NFL draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ "Luke Schoonmaker Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Luke Schoonmaker College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Walker, Patrik (April 28, 2023). "Luke Schoonmaker to Dallas as 2nd-Round Pick". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ Butterfield, Christine (September 18, 2023). "Connecticut native Luke Schoonmaker scores first NFL TD in Dallas Cowboys win over New York Jets". CT Insider. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Luke Schoonmaker 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Yahoo Sports
- Dallas Cowboys bio
- Michigan Wolverines bio
Media related to Luke Schoonmaker at Wikimedia Commons
