Chris Schubert waited and hoped to hear his name. When it wasn’t called, his time as a Cleveland Brown was over.
He wasn’t about to hang his head.
“It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had,” he said Sunday night by phone. “Just being able to show what I can do with guys I never thought in a million years I’d play next to.”
Schubert, an Oberlin High graduate and star receiver/returner for Oberlin College, was invited to Browns rookie minicamp as a tryout. In four days, he attended meetings, practiced and tried to grasp offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski’s intricate playbook.
On Sunday afternoon, the Browns declined to offer him a contract.
“I’m not angry, I’m not mad, I’m not sad,” he said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity.
“I’m a humble guy. I’ll take it as it comes and keep working hard.”
Schubert, 5-foot-8, 183 pounds and from a Division III program, was defying the odds by even being invited to try out. So a bump in the road isn’t about to deter him from his goal of playing professional football.
“I’m just going to keep working,” he said. “There are opportunities I hope will come from this. I was hoping for a shot at the AFL or CFL. If the NFL comes knocking, it blows you back a little bit.”
With Schubert’s size and quickness, Yeoman coach Jeff Ramsey thinks he’s ideally suited for the Arena Football League. The Canadian Football League is also a possibility.
“I think Chris could dominate in the arena league,” Ramsey said. “He has all those skills they look for and use. They have the shorter field, and that’s where his quickness really helps him. The ability to run routes and shake guys is important.”
Spending a weekend in Browns camp isn’t only great for telling stories to your grandkids later in life. The Browns will send a report on Schubert to the league office, and it will be available for teams in the NFL, AFL and CFL.
If Schubert was writing the report, it’d be filled with positives.
“I was happy with where I was at. I did what I had to do,” he said. “You kinda hope for situations like that, so you can measure yourself with guys from big programs with NFL talent.
“I definitely think I have the talent to play with guys like that.”
The Browns coaches gave Schubert and his fellow tryouts some parting words of encouragement.
“They said, ‘You guys have talent, that’s why you’re here. Don’t get down on yourself just because it doesn’t happen here,’” Schubert said.
Schubert will continue to train — he’ll attend a combine at Kent State next weekend to work out for scouts from the NFL, AFL, CFL and AFL2 — but he’ll also expand his focus. He has finals coming up, then will graduate with a sociology degree.
It could come in handy if the football thing doesn’t work out.
“Coming from Oberlin, that diploma can do a lot for you,” he said.
Schubert said his time in Berea could also pay dividends down the road in the real world.
“It was one of the most stressful weekends ever,” he said. “It should make any other job interview seem like a piece of cake.”
Schubert wants to put that reality on hold. He’s gotten a taste of life in the NFL — and wants more.
What was the best part?
“The whole thing,” he said. “Just getting the call, getting the chance to try out for an NFL team. There aren’t a lot of guys who even get that shot.”
No wonder he’s still smiling.
Contact Scott Petrak at 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. 

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