Jody Schulz
Encyclopedia
Jody John Schulz is a former American football
linebacker
who played for five seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles
of the National Football League
from 1983
–1987
. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 1983 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Chowan JC and East Carolina
.
in Centreville, Maryland
. He played football
, but his team was "terrible" and did not win many games. He did not try hard in school and dropped out for one year and thought about getting married until the woman he was going to marry was killed in a car crash. Schulz got arrested while out of school, and the judge at a court hearing told him to either go back to school, or go to jail.
to play college football
, but when he first arrived, he was ninth on the depth chart at defensive end
. Because so many players tried out for the team, Schulz did not receive a helmet until other players quit the team. In his first season, Schulz won more games than he had his entire high school career.
He was inducted into the Chowan University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.
. Schulz was also recruited by other schools such as Wake Forest
, Maryland
, Virginia Tech
and Tulane
. Schulz was favoring going to Wake Forest because he liked their linebackers coach, and told Fast that he was thinking about going there to play football. That day, Fast came to Schulz's door and tried to talk him into coming to East Carolina. Fast came back the following day and the day after that in hopes of convincing Schulz to sign a letter-of-intent to East Carolina. Fast explained to Schulz that coach Emory told Fast not to come back to East Carolina if he could not get Schulz to sign a letter-of-intent. When Fast could still not convince Schulz, he called Emory, and, during a snowstorm, flew in to Kent Island, Maryland
, where Schulz lived. As soon as Schulz saw Emory get off the airplane, he signed the letter-of-intent immediately.
In 1981, with Schulz leading the defense, Emory recorded his first winning season as head coach. Schulz led the team in tackles in 1981 with 125 tackles. He also had nine sacks
. He earned honorable mention All-America honors by the Associated Press
.
In 1982, Schulz made 105 tackles and 10 sacks and earned Associated Press All-America honors. After the season, he tried to get a redshirt
out of his freshman year at Chowan in order to play for the Pirates in 1983, but could not get it since he played too much his freshman year.
Schulz played in the Blue-Gray Football Classic
on December 25, 1982.
Schulz was inducted into the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
told Schulz that they were going to draft him in the 1983 NFL Draft
. However, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles
in the second round (46th overall), one pick before the Packers would pick. He became the highest draft pick ever to come out of East Carolina until Robert Jones
was drafted in the first round (24th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft
. He was also drafted in the 14th round of the 1983 USFL
Draft by the Washington Federals, but he chose to sign with the Eagles. He signed a series of one-year contracts with the Eagles on May 24, 1983. He quickly became the starter at left outside linebacker for the team, and in his NFL debut, a game against the Packers, Schulz made two sacks and had more than 10 tackles. A few weeks later, against the Denver Broncos
, Schulz injured his knee, his first injury since before college. He subsequently injured it many times during the season. A more serious knee injury caused him to miss the entire 1985 season
. He received the Ed Block Courage Award
in 1986 after he came back from the injury. Schulz was released on April 27, 1988 and subsequently retired thereafter.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
who played for five seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from 1983
1983 NFL season
The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...
–1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the 1983 NFL Draft
1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Chowan JC and East Carolina
East Carolina Pirates football
The East Carolina Pirates is a college football team that represents East Carolina University . The team is currently a member of the Conference USA, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association .The Pirates have won seven conference championships and...
.
Early years
Schulz attended Queen Anne's County High SchoolQueen Anne's County High School
Queen Anne's County High School is a four-year public high school in Centreville, MD, Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. It is one of 2 public high schools in Queen Anne's County along with Kent Island High School.-Overview:...
in Centreville, Maryland
Centreville, Maryland
Centreville is an incorporated town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States. Incorporated in 1794, it is the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The population was 1,970 at the 2000 census. The ZIP code is 21617 and the area code is 410. The local telephone exchange is 758...
. He played football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, but his team was "terrible" and did not win many games. He did not try hard in school and dropped out for one year and thought about getting married until the woman he was going to marry was killed in a car crash. Schulz got arrested while out of school, and the judge at a court hearing told him to either go back to school, or go to jail.
Chowan University
Schulz attended Chowan UniversityChowan University
- Other Notable Former Students :* Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, confessed architect of the September 11 attacks.- External links :* *...
to play college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
, but when he first arrived, he was ninth on the depth chart at defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
. Because so many players tried out for the team, Schulz did not receive a helmet until other players quit the team. In his first season, Schulz won more games than he had his entire high school career.
He was inducted into the Chowan University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992.
East Carolina University
Chowan University played against the East Carolina Pirates junior varsity football team, and an assistant coach for the Pirates, Gary Fast, recruited Schulz and about eight or nine other players to East Carolina to play for head coach Ed EmoryEd Emory
Ed Emory is a former American football player and coach. He became East Carolina University fourteenth head football coach in 1980. He was at the helm of another Pirate first. In 1983, he guided the Pirate faithful to a 8-3 record and a #20 ranking in the Associated Press final national poll. His...
. Schulz was also recruited by other schools such as Wake Forest
Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represents Wake Forest University in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest plays its home football games at BB&T Field....
, Maryland
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech Hokies football
The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a college football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have more wins in team history than any other program in the ACC. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium which seats over...
and Tulane
Tulane Green Wave football
The Tulane Green Wave football program is an NCAA Division I FBS football team that represents Tulane University in New Orleans. The team is a member of Conference USA and is led by interim head coach Mark Hutson, who took over on October 18, 2011, when fifth-year head coach Bob Toledo resigned...
. Schulz was favoring going to Wake Forest because he liked their linebackers coach, and told Fast that he was thinking about going there to play football. That day, Fast came to Schulz's door and tried to talk him into coming to East Carolina. Fast came back the following day and the day after that in hopes of convincing Schulz to sign a letter-of-intent to East Carolina. Fast explained to Schulz that coach Emory told Fast not to come back to East Carolina if he could not get Schulz to sign a letter-of-intent. When Fast could still not convince Schulz, he called Emory, and, during a snowstorm, flew in to Kent Island, Maryland
Kent Island, Maryland
Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay, and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is separated from Sandy Point, an area near Annapolis, by...
, where Schulz lived. As soon as Schulz saw Emory get off the airplane, he signed the letter-of-intent immediately.
In 1981, with Schulz leading the defense, Emory recorded his first winning season as head coach. Schulz led the team in tackles in 1981 with 125 tackles. He also had nine sacks
Quarterback sack
In American football and Canadian football, a sack occurs when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before he can throw a forward pass, or when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in the "pocket" and the intent of what he was going to do is unclear...
. He earned honorable mention All-America honors by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
.
In 1982, Schulz made 105 tackles and 10 sacks and earned Associated Press All-America honors. After the season, he tried to get a redshirt
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
out of his freshman year at Chowan in order to play for the Pirates in 1983, but could not get it since he played too much his freshman year.
Schulz played in the Blue-Gray Football Classic
Blue-Gray Football Classic
The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama usually on Christmas Day. It was begun in 1939 and held annually through 2001 at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The game was not contested in 2002 and was subsequently revived in 2003 in...
on December 25, 1982.
Schulz was inducted into the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.
Professional career
The Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
told Schulz that they were going to draft him in the 1983 NFL Draft
1983 NFL Draft
The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983...
. However, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the second round (46th overall), one pick before the Packers would pick. He became the highest draft pick ever to come out of East Carolina until Robert Jones
Robert Jones (American football)
Robert Lee Jones is a former American football linebacker who played 10 seasons in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, the St...
was drafted in the first round (24th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft
1991 NFL Draft
The 1991 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 21–22, 1991 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan, New York...
. He was also drafted in the 14th round of the 1983 USFL
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
Draft by the Washington Federals, but he chose to sign with the Eagles. He signed a series of one-year contracts with the Eagles on May 24, 1983. He quickly became the starter at left outside linebacker for the team, and in his NFL debut, a game against the Packers, Schulz made two sacks and had more than 10 tackles. A few weeks later, against the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Schulz injured his knee, his first injury since before college. He subsequently injured it many times during the season. A more serious knee injury caused him to miss the entire 1985 season
1985 NFL season
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
. He received the Ed Block Courage Award
Ed Block Courage Award
The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to selected players in the National Football League , who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a well-liked humanitarian and trainer for the Baltimore Colts, the...
in 1986 after he came back from the injury. Schulz was released on April 27, 1988 and subsequently retired thereafter.