Schmid
continued from page 4B
lot of times, especially in football, it’s
really easy to get down and really
easy to get high. The highs and lows
of a season still get to you, but faith
helps put it into perspective.”
For example, there was no Duck
more disappointed than Schmid on
Oct. 20 when Oregon had been beat
en by Stanford, 49-42, for its only loss
yet this season. What made the defeat
even more painful was that the Ducks
had taken a 14-point lead into the
fourth quarter and lost on their own
turf during Homecoming weekend.
Most likely dashed that afternoon
was Oregon’s legitimate national
championship dreams. So while the
loss stung, and still does for
Schmid, his maturity and view
point on life led him to see the
bright side of the situation.
“When you have a goal for over a
year and it’s just suddenly gone, that’s
a shocking blow,” Schmid said about
reaching the Rose Bowl. “But then
you take a step back and realize that
you can learn a great deal from it, if
you look at it the right way.
“So rather than just dwell on how
horrible that loss felt, my faith helps
turn it into a positive,” he said.
Becoming a Duck
Schmid has clearly been a posi
tive influence on the Ducks. The
Lake Oswego High graduate entered
the Oregon program as a redshirt
freshman in 1997. During his first
playing year in 1998, while partici
pating in seven games, he made a
strong enough impression on Zoum
boukos that the coach knew he had
someone special on his hands.
“When he began playing, it be
came very clear that he was going to
play a significant role,” Zoum
boukos said. “And as time has gone
on, his role to our group has been
absolutely immense. He’s been a
leader since a young age and has
been every bit as valuable to this
program as Joey Harrington has.”
Indeed, in the fall of 1999, when
Harrington burst onto the scene with
comeback victories, Schmid was
starting most of the games on the of
fensive line. The next year, Schmid
started at center and left guard, a po
sition he’s solidified this season.
His partner through it all has been
senior Jim Adams, who described
his buddy as an “air traffic con
troller” on the playing field.
“He knows all the calls and has a
better grasp of this offense than even
Joey at times,” Adams said. “Be
cause when Joey messes up, Ryan’s
the one that turns backwards and
corrects him.”
Speaking of Harrington, it sur
prised Schmid a great deal to learn
that Harrington listed him as some
one he’s learned the most from.
“Really? That’s an incredible
compliment, especially coming
from Joe, ” Schmid said.
So what was it about Schmid that
stood out in Harrington’s eye?
“His work ethic,” Harrington said.
“I thought I knew how to work hard,
and then I saw Ryan Schmid. The
way he carries people every day and
how all his hard work rubs off on us. ”
A family work ethic
Schmid doesn’t consider himself
any more talented or smarter or
more dedicated than anyone else
he’s around. To him, he’s just fol
lowing in the footsteps of his father,
Mike Schmid. As a child, Schmid
would watch his dad go to work all
day as a civil engineer and then
come and immediately start work
ing around the house.
“He doesn’t understand how to
relax,” Schmid said.
Schmid never heard his father
complain about any of the chores he
was doing or about tfie long hours he
was putting in at the office. He con
siders his dad to be an “incredible
role model” and sees himself as be
ing a reflection of Mike.
One house project that Mike
Schmid will probably have to soon
start on is a separate room for all of
the Duck paraphernalia that
Schmid’s mother, Sue, keeps buy
ing. The two proud parents loyally
attend every game and will be there
Saturday to watch their oldest son
compete in his final game at Autzen
Stadium against Oregon State.
“With 100,000 people, I could
probably still hear my mom. She
gets really into it,” Schmid said.
“She’s got the pompoms and that
stupid little Duck whistle that
everybody blows. Really, if there’s
Duck stuff, she probably has it.”
While his parents are a strong in
fluence on Schmid, they didn’t
push him into being so involved
with Christianity. Schmid found
that on his own when he moved
away from the comforts of his home.
Finding God
As a freshman in college, he
turned to Christ. And it wasn’t one
of “those voices from heaven calls,”
as he put it, that was his one defin
ing moment. It was more of a grad
ual process.
“I just made a decision to do that,
and as I pursued it, it became more
and more real,” Schmid said. “It
was something I needed. I just really
craved it. ”
Soon, he was involved with cam
pus organizations such as Athletes
in Action and Campus Crusade for
Christ. He loved the interaction he
had with other people involved and
how alive he felt when he read the
Bible and let Christianity take full
rein of his actions.
But there was one moment that
really reaffirmed his belief in Christ
and his belief in his ability to be an
outspoken leader. It occurred in
April 2000, in a week that will be re
membered on the University cam
pus as “Ryan Week.”
“I don’t think any of us expected
it to blow up the way it did,”
Schmid said. “That was a crazy,
crazy week. Man, that was nuts.”
Do you agree?
A couple of weeks prior, the words
“Do you agree with Ryan?” began
popping up on classroom chalk
boards. They were written in chalk
on sidewalks along 13th Avenue.
Fliers with the message were passed
out around campus and placed on ta
bles in the Erb Memorial Union.
Students began wondering who
this “Ryan” was and what they were
supposed to agree with. Rumors ran
rampant. While sitting in his Writ
ing 122 class, Jeff Schmid had to
laugh when his older brother’s
name was being tossed around the
room in off-base opinions as to what
the message was about.
So finally, on Friday of “Ryan
Week,” Ryan Schmid stepped
into the EMU Amphitheater,
grabbed a microphone and an
swered everyone’s questions. He
had been chosen by Campus Cru
Tum to Schmid, page 21B
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