John Michael Schmitz Jr. (born March 19, 1999) is an American football center for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, where he was named a first-team All-American.
 Schmitz in 2023 | |||||
| No. 61 – New York Giants | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Center | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | March 19, 1999 Flossmoor, Illinois, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 310 lb (141 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Homewood-Flossmoor (Flossmoor, Illinois) | ||||
| College: | Minnesota (2017–2022) | ||||
| NFL draft: | 2023 / Round: 2 / Pick: 57 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||
Early years
Schmitz was born on March 19, 1999, in Flossmoor, Illinois, and attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School.[1] Schmitz initially committed to play college football at Western Michigan under coach P. J. Fleck.[2] He later flipped his commitment to Minnesota after Fleck was hired there.[3][4]
College career
Schmitz redshirted his true freshman season at Minnesota.[5] He played in all 13 of the Golden Gophers' games as a redshirt freshman, appearing mostly on special teams.[6] Schmitz was named Minnesota's starting center entering his redshirt junior season and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference.[7] He was named second team All-Big Ten in 2021.[8] Schmitz used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to Minnesota for 2022.[9]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (1.92 m) | 301 lb (137 kg) | 32+5⁄8 in (0.83 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 5.35 s | 1.85 s | 3.03 s | 4.56 s | 29.5 in (0.75 m) | 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) | 26 reps | ||
| All values from the NFL Combine[10] | ||||||||||||
Schmitz was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round, 57th overall, of the 2023 NFL draft.[11]