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The ‘Net Works Former Falcon Nick Schrank uses Web site, contacts to pursue NFL dream

By Jeff Malmgren Times-Democrat Staff Writer

If the Washington Redskins don’t hire Nick Schrank, maybe the Mars Inc. marketing department will.

Schrank’s goal is to join an NFL team, and his acute advertising eye is proving as valuable in that pursuit as his vision on the field as a linebacker.

For the last eight months, Schrank, a Warrenton resident and former Fauquier High football player, has been promoting himself as a potential NFL talent, mostly via a Web site, and he’s done an admirable job considering his circumstance.

After graduating from FHS in 2005, he never played NCAA Division I or II college football.

Yet through nickschrank.com and other avenues, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound 22-year old has made connections in the professional football world and even elicited a contract from the Richmond (V.A.) Raiders of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA), he said.

“As soon as that [Web] site was up everything started rolling,” Schrank said by phone Sunday while training in California. “[Richmond,] it’s professional,

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LIVING LARGE: Former FHS lineman Nick Schrank is working hard to play pro football – and his Website is helping. Visit www.nickschrank.com.

*This Article has been reformatted in order to best suit the webpage format of NICKSCHRANK.COM. The literature and photos have not been altered. The layout of the article has been altered in a way to best suit the needs of NICKSCHRANK.COM the webpage. Visit www.fauquier.com to see the original version.

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which is great. It’s part of the ladder process to the NFL.”

Schrank may choose to complete his bachelor’s degree instead of signing with the Raiders, though. He has one semester of course work left in his communications/public relations major at Radford University.

If Schrank chooses in the next few days to pass on the current AIFA contract offer, he plans to instead pursue a practice roster spot on a NFL team by showcasing his skills at the Liberty University pro day in March.

Schrank’s networking efforts afforded him an invitation to that event, and they also led to recent contact with a sports agent, to a unique training opportunity in Santa Monica, Calif., where he met former NFL star Eddie George, and to the contract offer from the Richmond Raiders.

“The whole process of trying to make football a pro career is based off your network, “ Schrank said. “The Web site was to set myself apart from my peers as far as getting exposure.”

Nickschrank.com is a clean, simple Web site composed of blog posts and videos showing Schrank’s workouts, games and other highlights.

One recent video features Schrank standing on a beach while holding a trophy he was awarded for winning the East Coast MVP honor at the North American Football League

(NAFL) All-Star game in Miami on Nov. 14.

“I put it up online, and immediately I started getting offers from arena football league teams,” said Schrank, who works out locally at Old Town Athletic Club. “ It allowed me to get legitimacy. It opened the door further.”

Schrank earned a spot on that all-star team after playing outside linebacker for the VA Crimson Cardinals of the NAFL, an amateur and developmental league for college and professional teams.

Prior to playing for the Cardinals, and before transferring to Radford for his final year of college, Schrank played two seasons for the George Mason University football team. He began there shortly after graduating from Fauquier High.

Schrank, the son of Bev Carruthers and Jeff Schrank, played defensive end for Fauquier, but suffered an off-the-field eye injury that required three surgeries and hampered his junior and senior seasons, he said

“That definitely hurt me,” Schrank said. “ I had a tough couple of years at Fauquier. But it was on my plate and I had to eat it.”

That history makes for a resume unlike those of most professional players, but George Mason head coach Matt Dyson doesn’t believe that should divorce Schrank from his NFL dream.

“Is it something he could do? Definitely. He’s one of the hardest-

working kids I’ve ever seen. I think he has the skills and intelligence to do it.” Said Dyson, who played two years in the NFL after being selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round of the 1995 draft.

“It’s a hard road no matter how you go about it. The big key is if he gets a shot, and he’s using different avenues to reach that goal.”

Becoming a NFL player isn’t an unrealistic goal in Schrank’s mind either.

“It’s so intangible to others, but when I realize I can have it, it makes it a tangible piece to me. I’m just pulling it closer day by day.” Schrank said. “It’s not huge if you break it down and work at it day by day.”

FITNESS FREAK: 2005 FHS graduate Nick Schrank says he has a contract offer from the Richmond (V.A.) Raiders of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). He works out at Old Town Athletic Club.

By Justin Ward Radford University Newspaper

The Tartan

If the name Nick Schrank doesn’t ring a bell now, just give him a few years and he’ll probably be in ESPN’s everyday vocabulary. The senior and recent transfer student to Radford University has high goals, not dreams, of making it to the NFL.

“It’s not a dream to me it’s a tangible piece or tangible goal that is off into the distance and I’ve seen it, I’ve lassoed a rope on it and every day I just pull it a little bit closer, and a little bit closer,” Schrank said. With a few offers already in arena football, that light at the end of the tunnel is getting much closer and brighter for the 6’2” 220lbs. linebacker. But for Schrank that tunnel has been an uphill climb. While in high school in Fauquier County, Schrank sustained lasting injuries to his right eye after a paintball accident. Learning to see again was a struggle, and a huge setback in his high school football career. For Schrank, it was like learning how to walk again, and understand a new depth perception.

Thus he hit speed bump number one, but kept on trucking. “It’s not a handicap to me. Everybody has a problem it’s just how you can channel it and adapt to it. And if you really effectively channel it, it’s not a problem… just another filter you have to go through,” Schrank said. Then came speed bump number two, a torn ACL during a game in Atlanta for George Mason University. For him, that instance was the deciding factor of continuing with football. “People questioned, ‘is this something that you really need to be doing?’ Kind of like a come-back-to-

Nick Schrank: Has high hopes to tackle NFL goals

*This Article has been reformatted in order to best suit the webpage format of NICKSCHRANK.COM. The literature and photos have not been altered. The layout of the article has been altered in a way to best suit the needs of NICKSCHRANK.COM the webpage. Visit www.thetartan.com to see the original version.

Left: Nick Schrank works with his trainer Kappel LeRoy Clarke while being filmed for a documentary on the struggles of NFL potentials.

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“This is reality for me, it’s not a dream, it’s an obtainable goal that I’ve set for myself,” he said. With that drive and humble charisma he hurdles over those speed bumps and has been able to train with A-list football stars and learn from top trainers along the way. After a strenuous workout one day, Schrank checked out NFL.com for some weight-lifting ideas and training exercises. He found Kappel LeRoy Clarke’s Fre Flo Do, a treadmill, or ‘launch pad’ type exercise that incorporates jumping, running, and hand-eye coordination all in one. Schrank automatically showed interest and started talking to Clark, fascinated by his program. He then was personally invited by Clarke to Santa Monica, CA. “So when we met in person, it was like a reunion,” Schrank said. “There’s was no ‘hi nice to meet you’, it was ‘let’s get to work’.” Clarke surprised him during his first training session with Eddie George, a former NFL star who played for the Titans and Cowboys. What Clarke and George saw was a future NFL star. They put him to the test though just to make sure he had what it takes. Schrank completed 17 six to eight hour workouts in nine days… and he’s still moving forward. “ [Clarke] is a lifetime relationship that I’ll always have,” he said. A production company picked up on Schrank’s blog on his web site NickSchrank.com and chose to incorporate him in their documentary about the struggles of making it pro. “I put everything I could possibly do into it, and now it’s time to sit back and find out what’s going to happen to it,” Schrank said. Oh and that website? It’s no leftovers of a crappy class project.

His keen PR eye has helped him create a ‘superman’ image; training videos, fan mail, merchandise, and his latest media feature… all selling points for individual NFL team scouts, but that’s not his goal. “You’re getting me… I’m sharing my talents with others, it’s that simple. It’s not a marketing ploy in my book but a way to reach out to as many people as I can,” Schrank said. So with graduation just weeks away Schrank says there is no breaking into the real world. For him, he’s already there. “I’m comfortable in the uncomfortable, that’s my home, that’s where I live.” And in the uncomfortable Schrank won’t find rest until his goal is met. “It’s do or die for me. I’m willing to live in a cardboard box with the same pair of underwear…I will do whatever it takes to get there,” Schrank said. “I could have been a seamstress, a craftsman, it could have been glass blowing, or cooking, baking but it happened to be football for me. And I think God has lined up… people that I’m supposed to meet, and people who are supposed to meet me through this journey.”

By Keith Hagarty

Radford University

Despite his name not being called at last weekend’s 2010 National Football League Draft in New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Radford University student Nick Schrank, 22, isn’t one to give up. Like thousands of prospects looking for a shot to play in the NFL, Schrank lives in the gym and practice field. However, unlike many of his peers showcased on college football teams, Schrank is combining his athletic talent and endless drive with an explosive social media campaign and self-marketing blitz.

After nearly being blinded in one eye from a teenage paintball accident, the sparkplug 6’2”, 210 lb. linebacker, blessed with talent which earned him the East Coast MVP award in Miami last November at the semi-professional North America Football League’s All Star Game, is no stranger to adversity.

Adopting the motto of “Comfortable in the Uncomfortable” Schrank refuses to be pigeonholed or lost in the vast sea of NFL hopefuls.

“Comfortable in the Uncomfortable.”

NFL Prospect Attempts to Score with Social Media Blitz

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NICKSCHRANK.COM. The literature has not been altered. The layout of the article has been

altered in a way to best suit the needs of NICKSCHRANK.COM the webpage. Visit

rutoday.radford.edu to see the original version.

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Instead, Schrank, of Fauquier County, Virginia, put fate on his shoulders, using the explosive growth of the Internet’s emerging social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) to launch a tactical, never-say-die game plan targeting the NFL. His Web site www.NickSchrank.com is a vibrant multimedia playground chronicling his ongoing journey, including his specialized Fre Flo Do workout training sessions, highlight game footage, daily blogs, photos, videos and much more.

Rubbing elbows with NFL greats, such as former Tennessee Titans’ legend Eddie George and Reggie Bush, of the world champion New Orleans Saints, helped fuel Schrank’s NFL hunger. His cyber marketing showcase has caught the attention of Web-surfers by the thousands and media outlets throughout the region and state, including a recent on-campus profile of Schrank broadcast Tuesday, April 20 on the Roanoke-based WDBJ7 News.

Schrank is the perfect example of how new media technology and cutting-edge marketing strategies are sweeping in a new wave of communication resonating across

all fields and industries, including sports, said Christopher Finley, former president of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and one of

Schrank’s former professors.

“Social media isn’t a fad, it truly is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate, creating powerful new ways to correspond and share information,” said Finley. “Social media has revolutionized the industry.”

Schrank lives and breathes his goals, both on and off the field, showing how a powerful combination of perseverance and commitment can help achieve anything. Just don’t say Schrank “dreams” to be in the NFL. Dreams aren’t reality for Schrank, just pie in the sky fantasies.

“It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth because I don’t believe it to be a dream,” he said of his NFL aspirations. “It’s not a dream; it’s a tangible object I see before me.”

“Social Media isn’t a fad, it truly is a fundamental shift in the way we communicate…”

-Christopher Finley Radford Univ.

“…It’s not a dream; it’s a tangible object I see before me.”

RU Senior Holds Tight To NFL Plan: Nick Schrank doesn't play college football, but he's worked hard trying to get scouts' attention and hopes to become the first Highlander to get drafted in the NFL.

By Sean Kotz The Roanoke Times

Special

You can say "can't," "won't," "don't bother."

You call him crazy, but 22-year-old Nick Schrank won't hear anything negative in that.

To him, every negative is just another log to fuel his fire as he attempts to do what most people think is impossible.

Against the odds, Schrank is trying to become the first player ever from Radford University to get drafted in the NFL -- which began its annual selection process Thursday night in New York City.

That would be quite a feat, since Radford has only a football club, not an NCAA team.

"You know, people are going to question my legitimacy," Schrank said.

"But I just keep a positive attitude and try to use anything negative that is thrown at me."

As he is quick to point out, adversity is nothing new to him, but it has also been a source of strength.

When he was 13, Schrank took a blow from a paint ball that left his right eye permanently damaged. However, he overcame and had a successful high school career in Fauquier County.

From there, he went to George Mason and played middle linebacker until a torn ACL sidelined him in his freshman year.

That would have been the end for most athletes, especially since the next step in his life would take him away from college football.

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*This Article has been reformatted in order to best suit the webpage format of

NICKSCHRANK.COM. The literature and photos have not been altered. The layout of the article

has been altered in a way to best suit the needs of NICKSCHRANK.COM the webpage. Visit

www.roanoke.com to see the original version.

Left: Radford University student Nick Schrank first attended George Mason and played middle linebacker until a torn ACL sidelined him in his freshman year.

*Photo Courtesy of Dan Griffin

“I had been basically walking around with my hands out, asking for something, but then...”

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Schrank fell in love with Susan Baird, a Radford student.

Within three months, he had proposed, realizing that she was the one.

"I was committed to her the moment I met her," said Schrank, whose wedding is planned for mid-September.

"I am not much for phone conversations. So my only choice was to move down."

But Schrank also knew he had to find a way to play football again.

With his time clock running out, Division I schools were unlikely to give him a chance as an unknown junior walk-on, so he joined the Radford football club.

After the team's first game against Hargrave Military Academy, Hargrave coach Robert Prunty approached Schrank and offered to send out video highlights for him and stressed the value of being seen by scouts.

"I had been basically walking around with my hands out asking for something, but then I said, 'You know, let's give the people something tangible, that they can see online,' " Schrank said.

Bev Carruthers, Schrank's mother, was also starting to realize that getting an agent was unlikely. But her son was also still committed to making it to the NFL.

"So we sat around the kitchen table," Carruthers said, "and I said, 'Alright buddy, here's your resources -- your brother, your sisters and me -- what are we going to do?' "

From there, Carruthers became the de facto agent, making phone calls and contacting trainers.

His brother, Steve Schrank, began shooting video and developing the media machine to get him the attention he needed.

Carruthers said Steve Schrank is the silent partner.

When the pair were very young, his family went through a divorce, but Schrank said the upside was that it brought the brothers closer together.

"We are so close, we are practically twins," Schrank said. According to Steve Schrank, the two have always been able to rely on each other.

In 2007, his proposal for the Redbull Flugtag competition was accepted. But with time running out, his Fantastic Four crew started bailing out, so he called his brother at the last minute.

"He hopped on a flight, paid for it himself, and flew into Tampa Bay the day before the competition, just to make sure I had the human torch to take the plunge with me," Schrank said.

Not surprisingly, Steve Schrank transferred to Radford in 2009 so the two could work together daily, and the efforts started paying off.

In 2009, he was contacted by the Virginia Crimson Cardinals, Lynchburg's team in the North American Football League. Officials there were impressed by the videos they saw.

After his first season with the Cardinals, he went to the league all-star game in Miami and won the East Coast MVP Award.

In the meantime, Schrank's mother and sisters were supporting him in every way possible.

Once, when Steve Schrank was not

available, sister Chelsea Carruthers, 17, drove from Culpepper to videotape two games -- in less than 24 hours in two states.

"I remember it was rainy and cold that night," said Carruthers about

the whirlwind trip to Asheville, N.C., and back to Radford, "but even then he kept playing and I kept recording the whole game."

His other sister, 16-year-old Stephanie Carruthers, is the No. 1 supporter, according to family members.

"Nick says the way I support him, I will get the front desk job," she said.

Schrank's family is realistic about the obstacles, but by the same token, they believe that if anyone can do this, it is him.

Keith Hagarty, Radford University public relations coordinator, is sold on Schrank, as well.

"Nick has boundless energy and he is ready for anything," he said. "As much as people knock him down, he

LA Promo

Santa Monica, CA

(Continued)

Marc Levy, Michael Gleaton, Nick Schrank and Kappel LeRoy Clarke mada a video promoting Schrank as a candidate for the NFL, which began its annual selection process Thursday night in New York City.

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just gets back up."

Against the odds, with the help of his family and friends, Schrank is getting lots of attention at nickschrank.com and has made himself as visible as possible to NFL scouts for this weekend's draft.

But don't expect Schrank to be glued to the TV this weekend. Instead, he says he will be right where he always is -- in the gym, working out.

“…boundless energy and he is ready for anything.”

"…people are going

to question my legitimacy."