Going into a season where talk of bowl games and winning records was heard around the Duke football locker room, few could have predicted that freshman Mike Schneider would become the starting quarterback for the Blue Devils this season.
After replacing a struggling Adam Smith in the opener against Virginia, Schneider has taken the reins and started every game thereafter.
"He's got abilities that will help us win the football game," head coach Carl Franks said. "He is a tremendous competitor."
In fact, in his first two games as a starter, Schneider led the Blue Devils to victories against Western Carolina and Rice. Thanks to a 188-yard-passing and two-touchdown performance against the Owls, Schneider was named ACC Rookie of the Week.
For those who have known Schneider, finding football success as a freshman on the college level was no surprise.
"We had faith that he would make it," his mother Sheila Schneider said. "He never gives up, he doesn't want to lose; he is just a winner."
Throughout his life, Schneider has excelled on the athletic fields. Hailing from Sharon, Penn., Schneider quarterbacked the Sharon High School Tigers to three district championships, and he also earned an honorable mention all-state selection in 2001.
Schneider's football career began many years before high school. Coming from a "real football family" as his mom claims, where his dad coaches it, his oldest brother played it in college, and even his sister participated, there seems to be no way that he could not help but fall in love with the game.
"You see the kid's eyes in the huddle, he's a ballplayer," Duke center Luke Bayer said. "He loves it, he sleeps it, he eats [it], he loves football."
Besides football, academics were also something valued at the Schneider household. With a mom who is a principal and a dad who is a teacher, athletics and academics always went together. Thus, when it came time to choose a college, Schneider knew he was looking for the best combination of football and academics, and Duke was where he found it.
Arriving in Durham last year, Schneider decided to redshirt his first season. Despite not seeing any playing action, he was determined to become the Blue Devils' number one guy.
When the spring game rolled around and Schneider got a chance to strut his stuff, all the work he had put in was very evident. He led all quarterbacks who participated in the game by completing seven of 15 passes for 100 yards and was named Duke's Most Improved Quarterback. This success only gave Schneider more drive to become the starter as he started summer practice.
"I could tell this summer [he would be the starter]," Bayer said. "The kid was just determined."
All of Schneider's hard work paid off when he ran onto the field during the Virginia game to take the first snap of his college career. From that point on, Schneider has become the new leader of the Blue Devils' offense.
"Mike's been a tremendous leader even though he is a freshman," senior running back Chris Douglas said.
Despite his early success, Schneider refuses to rest on his laurels. He knows that Smith will be looking to regain his starting position. The work ethic and determination that got him to this point will, Schneider hopes, help to elevate his game even further.
"I hope I just get better and better every game," he said.
Looking at his past, he will not only improve, but he also hopes to lead Duke to a bowl game before his career in Wallace Wade Stadium is done.
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