As a former high school wrestling and football star, Lafayette’s Ross Scheuerman had to make a choice between the two. As a two-time county champion, he could’ve easily pursued wrestling at the next stage of his career, but he ultimately chose football, noting the ceiling on the gridiron was higher than the one on the mat.
A great fit indeed, as Scheuerman wound up accumulating 3,504 rushing yards, good enough for third place all-time in the annals of Lafayette Football, to go along with his 31 rush touchdowns, also fourth all-time. Lafayette isn’t a football factory by any means, and it’s not the main reason Scheuerman ended up choosing the school, placing a big emphasis on academics, as the economics major is slated to graduate this month. After being named a starter during his freshman and sophomore campaigns, it wasn’t really until his junior season when the versatile runner began placing himself on the NFL radar of scouts. That year, he ran for 1,113 yards and 14 scores, in addition to 337 yards via the air.
“Junior year it all settled in for me,” he said, according to Starr. “I had a big junior year there and I garnered some interest through games where scouts were at and caught their eye playing. After my junior year and throughout it, I got my goal set to make a run at the next level.”
His senior year, he chose perhaps the finest-hour in his tenure at Lafayette to shine the brightest. Lafayette versus Lehigh is the longest running rivalry, as the game’s been played 150 times since 1884. At Yankee Stadium, Scheuerman absolutely went bonkers, romping for 304 yards and three touchdowns in his team’s 27-7 win. Finishing his collegiate career on a high note, he noted his durability as one of the biggest things he’ll take on his journey to the next level of football.
“Being able to be a four-year starter and play in all 45 games I was involved in,” he told Starr. “I never missed a game in my career. It was something I am most proud of.”
It was his durability that no doubt caught the eyes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who recently picked up Scheuerman as an undrafted free agent following the 2015 NFL Draft. With the aging DeAngelo Williams the first in-line to snap up some carries behind suspended Le’Veon Bell, Scheuerman could perhaps use the upcoming OTA’s and rookie mini camps to prove he belongs with the big boys. At 6-foot even and 204 pounds, he lacks the ideal bulk you look for in a feature back, but offers change of pace versatility, perhaps in a Danny Woodhead role. There’s even been some chatter of him switching positions to slot receiver in a Julian Edelman-type move, as evidenced by his soft hands.
One thing is for certain, he’s worked his tail off to get to this point, and won’t take a second of it for granted.
“It is pretty amazing to see how far I have come,” he told Starr. “I came from a small town, wasn’t a highly recruited guy out of high school. I am proud and lucky to be where I am today.”
