NY Giants UDFA OL Ryan Schernecke a ‘real guy’ with an actual likelihood to stay

How does a 6-foot-7, 320-pound offensive lineman with apparent bodily presents and athleticism almost fall by way of the cracks of each the collegiate and NFL ranges?

Welcome to the story of Ryan Schernecke, an undrafted free agent from Division II Kutztown College who signed with the New York Giants after the 2026 NFL Draft.

Schernecke, out of Higher Moreland Excessive Faculty in Willow Grove, Pa., was largely unnoticed by greater faculties popping out of highschool.

Kutztown head coach Jim Clements mentioned that Schernecke “was kind of growing into his own body and his junior film was not good.”

Scherenecke’s senior season was additionally the COVID-19 yr and scouts from greater packages by no means actually obtained to see or communicate with Schernecke in the course of the season or in offseason camps the place gamers typically get seen by faculty coaches.

When he completed his highschool profession, Schernecke was listed by Max Preps as 6-7, 280 kilos. Taylor mentioned there have been questions on whether or not Schernecke was truly that massive, and whether or not his body might deal with gaining weight.

“You wouldn’t know it,” mentioned Kutztown offensive line coach Pat Taylor, who mentioned Schernecke appeared like he weighed maybe 240 kilos. “He looked really thin. He was kind of just like a baby giraffe of sorts.”

Kutztown, simply an hour away from Higher Moreland and with what Clements calls a “developmental program”, was the beneficiary.

‘We didn’t bail on him’

Clements and his employees took an opportunity based mostly on what they thought Schernecke may very well be, not based mostly on what he was.

“He was young and he was trying to figure out, he’s a long kid and he was uncoordinated a little bit. He was just like a baby deer. He had the measurables that we thought he could end up being special. So we didn’t bail on him.

“We went back and watched some more film the next year and it wasn’t, it, it was good. It wasn’t, oh my God, look at this kid. But you saw enough growth from his junior to his senior year where you’re like, Hey, this kid’s got a really high ceiling. He’s not even close and he’s getting better.”

At Kutztown, Schernecke developed from a struggling freshman right into a standout participant who drew consideration from greater than half the groups within the NFL and now has a chance to make the Giants’ roster. The Giants, by the way, are giving him greater than a chance. They’re giving him a assured $282,500. That could be a full yr’s observe squad wage ($247,500) and a $35,000 signing bonus.

Nonetheless, there was a query getting into the 2025 season as as to whether or not Schernecke would get any sort of NFL alternative.

Firstly of Kutztown’s 2023 season, Schernecke was attempting to play by way of a torn labrum. He then suffered a torn ACL — and continued to play by way of each accidents for a few video games earlier than being sidelined.

“This crazy bastard played two games on a torn ACL and a torn labrum,” Taylor mentioned.

After Kutztown lastly shut him down, Schernecke had surgical procedure to restore each accidents, missed the remainder of the season, your complete offseason coaching program, and wasn’t cleared to take part till simply earlier than the start of the 2024 season.

“So he doesn’t have spring football,” Taylor mentioned. “We’ve had guys before that have torn labrums. And it’s like, all right, not a big deal. You can still do all your lower body stuff. We’ve had guys with torn ACLs. And it’s like, you can do all your upper body stuff. So he comes back and he’s not bad. He’s good. He’s still like an all-region player. Still really good.”

Schernecke, by then, was on the radar of some NFL groups. They watched his 2024 tape, although, and weren’t overwhelmed.

“They’re like, well, it’s good. We want it to be a little bit more dominant,” Taylor mentioned. “I’m thinking to myself, yeah, because this guy hasn’t had a practice. He didn’t have an offseason. His offseason was rehabbing.”

Wholesome after the 2024 season, Schernecke attacked his offseason coaching. He added roughly 20 kilos with out sacrificing athleticism.

“I see him, he comes to one of our prospect camps just to help. And I see where his like body is and I’m like, man, I was worried that he was just like fat, to be perfectly honest with you,” Taylor mentioned. “And he’s demonstrating drills and he’s moving around and I said, oh boy, this is going to be different.

“Once I started seeing him practice this past summer and then even into the games and I’m just like, if this guy can’t make it, I don’t know who can, because it all clicked, the training, the weight, the understanding of the concepts, everything, he just started being able to play so much faster and stronger than he ever has and with more balance.

“And you’re just like, man, this is starting to look a lot different than what it did in the previous seasons.”

By mid-October, groups who have been nonetheless monitoring Schernecke have been REALLY starting to concentrate.

“Here come all these teams again,” Taylor mentioned. “I’m like, why are you guys coming now?

“They’re like, we had him as a grade to go back and watch. The 2025 film is so much better than 2024. Now we’ve got to see him. And then anyone who came in was just like, no, like this guy’s real. He’s a real guy. His height, his weight, the way he moves, his balance.”

Whereas someplace from 18 (Clements’ quantity) to 26 groups (Taylor’s quantity) expressed some curiosity in Schernecke, by the point the postseason draft course of was in full swing the Giants have been one in every of about 5 groups severely in pursuit of the Kutztown lineman.

School space scout Brendan Prophett and senior scout Chris Snee labored Schernecke out after the Lehigh Professional Day.

Clements mentioned the Las Vegas Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles have been among the many different groups who wished Schernecke. The younger man, by the way, grew up as an Eagles fan.

“He might have seen a pretty good situation, where the Giants are. Obviously everyone wants to be better up front, but he thought maybe, hey, this is a spot where I can grow, get better,” Clements mentioned. “It’s a new offensive line coach. It’s a new system. John Harbaugh’s in town. I think Ryan fits in that wheelhouse, what he [Harbaugh] was doing at Baltimore, and that’s what he wants to bring to New York. I think he’d be a really good fit, good project.”

Schernecke performed each deal with spots at Kutztown, and can be believed to have guard flexibility.

“The Giants are investing in him and have a plan for him and a vision for him,” Clements mentioned. “Whatever their plan and vision is for him, he’s going to exceed that. I don’t know what that is for them. I don’t know where they see him, but whatever they expect, they’re going to be more than happy what they get because he’s going to exceed that.”

Taylor mentioned guard is an choice for Schernecke as a result of “the strength of his game is him just coming off the ball and moving people.”

“Ryan, I’m sure it doesn’t care about it [position],” Taylor mentioned. “He’ll figure it out. But as long as people aren’t just judging him on the first practice or the second practice I think there’s a runway for him to stick around.

“Whether it’s making the 53 or being on the practice squad or whatever, I think there’s a path for Ryan to stick around for, you know, quite a few years.”