Another Trade Lands Schuening
Sunday, April 27, 2008
By Brett Grassmuck
Staff Writer
The Rams moved up into the fifth round to select Oregon State guard Roy Schuening, a player recommended by Oregon State alum
Steven Jackson.
“Steven did give a pretty good endorsement for the kid as far as the guy,” Linehan said. “Steven knows what we’re looking for. It’s an organizational goal to get those kinds of guys in this program.”
Rams coach
Scott Linehan also got a recommendation from his nephew, Josh Linehan, who is one of Schuening’s closest friends and a nephew of the Rams coach.
“I know a little bit about him, my nephew played with him through his career,” Linehan said. “That didn’t play into it at all. (Schuening) did it on his own, he played great football there.”
Schuening was originally projected as a second or third round pick, which is why Rams personnel man Billy Devaney said he was “sticking out like a sore thumb” on their draft board in round five.
“That’s why we thought ‘we better go get him, rather than stand pat and wait for the sixth round,’” Devaney said. “Once he went, then we’d really be throwing darts. He was the one guy that we thought was really a legitimate prospect at this point.”
He is a tough, physical blocker who played both guard and tackle in college and will add depth to the Rams offensive line. Linehan compared him to a couple former Rams that were mainstays on the offensive line.
“Adam Timmerman got here a different way,” Linehan said. “He made it via free agency, so you see what kind of a player he was. He just had the right stuff. Andy McCollum is another guy. By the time he got his chance, he took advantage of it and played in a couple Super Bowls and played very good football.”
Schuening started a school record 50 consecutive games for the Oregon State Beavers, registering 185 knockdowns and 18 touchdown-resulting blocks in his final two seasons. He was named an All-American as a senior and earned Academic All Pac-10 honors his final two years.
There’s something about the makeup of an offensive lineman that can play through whatever and start 50 starts in college and not miss a game,” Linehan said. “That’s hard to do, and he still has an excellent grade as far as physical. It’s not like he’s beat up. He’s in really good shape, and he’s coming out of a great program.”