Bye Bye Bearcats Seniors: #75 Kevin Schloemer
By Chris Bains
The next offensive lineman on our list of Bearcats we’re bidding farewell to is #75 Kevin Schloemer.
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A product of Lakota West High School, he was one of just a handful of Cincinnati prep players outside of the I-275 loop to commit to UC. The fact is the Bearcats simply have a better reputation outside of the 513 area than they do in it and the perception is especially negative in the Northern suburbs. That’s just the kind of battle UC coaches fight when trying to sell an urban university to suburban players. But the Brian Kelly flipped the switch during his incredible 2008 and 2009 seasons, with Schloemer coming on board in the latter.
An already enormous lineman coming out of high school, unlike Cory Keebler, Tyreek Burwell, and Eric Lefeld in the same graduating class, the Firebird merely needed to add more muscle mass and master the nuances of the collegiate game.
Schloemer’s name started popping up on UC’s depth chart around his redshirt sophomore year. By then he was a 6’7″, 290 lbs hulking lineman with a glorious mane to boot. He backed up Austen Bujnoch that season and his junior year. It allowed Schloemer to get his feet wet in blowouts and when Bujnoch needed a breather.
By the time he was a senior Schloemer added another 25 lbs of muscle and Darren Hiller started him in at left guard, where he was a backup for the prior two seasons. With Lefeld lining up to his left and Deyshawn Bond to his right, that side of Cincinnati’s line was among the best in the AAC. It’s just a shame his season was wrought with injuries.
Schloemer suffered a concussion and a broken leg all in the same game against SMU. Had he stayed healthy he could have been a potential pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Unfortunately luck wasn’t on his side but it’s clear his impact at Cincinnati, namely keeping UC’s quarterbacks upright and generating a bruising running game (and that hair!), will make him easy to remember for Bearcats fans.