CHS grad making name in NFL

DETROIT - When Cory Schlesinger was a rookie with the Detroit Lions, he figured he'd be in the league about four years.

"I saw guys who had been in the (NFL) for nine years and thought they were old," Schlesinger said during a phone interview Wednesday night.

Now it's the former Columbus High and Nebraska fullback who could be considered "old" by those standards.

But like fine wine, the 31-year-old Schlesinger has gotten better with age, even to the point of being selected last year as an alternate for the NFL Pro Bowl.

Many NFL coaches and players consider the two-time All-Stater for the Discoverers one of the league's best all-around fullbacks.

"The one guy that I am definitely impressed with is Schlesinger," Atlanta Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking told detroitlions.com. "He is the type of guy that he runs his feet on every block, he never stops (until) the whistle blows, and (he) runs through guys like you wouldn't believe. That sets the tone."

The tone Schlesinger has set with the Lions has been a positive one. Though he's spent most of his career blocking and playing on special teams, Schlesinger has also contributed with the ball in his hands. A 1,000-yard rusher during his high school days, he has rushed for 457 yards and five touchdowns in his nine years with the Lions.

Though he didn't do much of it in high school or college, Schlesinger has also established himself as a reliable pass receiver. He is third on the team in receptions this year, pulling in 29 for 215 yards and two touchdowns.

Schlesinger, who has 165 catches for 1,252 yards and five TDs in his career, has been learning this season from a player who he looked up to when he was younger, a player he was compared to often during his NU days.

Tom Rathman, an All-Stater at Grand Island before going on to star at NU and with the San Francisco 49ers, came with new head coach Steve Mariucci from the 49ers to the Lions before the 2003 season.

Rathman, the running backs coach in the Lions' West Coast offense, is impressed with what he's seen of the Duncan native.

"I think he's an excellent blocker, that's first and foremost," Rathman told Gameday magazine. "He's got natural hands, and he's a very good pass receiver. He has everything that you are looking for in a fullback in this type of offense."

Schlesinger, who drove in demolition derbies when he was in high school, has put up some solid numbers during his career with the Lions. His 118 special-teams tackles from 1995-2001 are the most by any Lions player.

But the number that amazed Mariucci when he first came to the Lions was 23. That's the number of face masks Schlesinger broke during 2002 season.

He is on pace to tie that mark this season, having broken 17, including one during the Lions' 22-14 Thanksgiving Day win over the Green Bay Packers.

A portion of the Lions' Web site called the Cory Schlesinger Broken Facemask Tracker is devoted to Schlesinger's knack for breaking face masks.

When Schlesinger first came to the Lions after being a sixth-round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft, he was used mainly as a lead blocker for future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders. But his playing time decreased his second season, and he was limited mainly to special teams.

"My second year I started to wonder," Schlesinger said when asked if he thought he would be in the league nine years. "We went to the run-and-shoot offense, which uses just one back, with Barry being that back. So I was playing just on special teams. So there were kind of some ups and downs there."

Schlesinger is one of three Telegram-area athletes currently playing in the NFL. Scotus Central Catholic graduate Chad Mustard is a backup tight end for the Cleveland Browns, and St. Edward's Scott Shanle is a backup linebacker for the St. Louis Rams.

Schlesinger had one piece of advice for Mustard and Shanle.

"Play on special teams," Schlesinger said. "That will keep you in the league the longest."

Though hard work is a key to staying in the NFL, Schlesinger said it takes a lot of luck as well.

"There are so many guys who can do it (play in the NFL), but they don't get a chance to show it," Schlesinger said.

Name recognition helps give players opportunities in the pros, something Schlesinger really didn't have during most of his Husker career.

"I was blocking for Lawrence Phillips and Tommie Frazier, and you really didn't hear anything about me," Schlesinger said. "I was just lucky (former NU coach) Tom Osborne called those two plays for me in the Orange Bowl.

Schlesinger was referring to the two touchdowns he scored in the fourth quarter of the 1995 Orange Bowl, when the Huskers rallied for a 24-17 win over the Miami Hurricanes for the national championship.

During the 1997 and '98 seasons, he split time with another fullback, Tommy Vardell, before establishing himself as the Lions' starter in 1999. During the last four seasons, he has made 43 of his 50 career starts.

Schlesinger said some people still don't recognize him.

"They get me confused with the Makovickas," Schlesinger said, referring to former NU fullbacks Jeff and Joel, who were from East Butler. "Somebody will ask me, 'Don't you have a brother that played at Nebraska?' and I say 'No, that's the Makovickas.'"

Ask any high school, college or NFL defensive player who has felt a Schlesinger block during the last 15 years. They can tell you exactly who he is.