Emergence of the Schohawk

We have yet to see the Schohawk take flight this season, and maybe we won’t. By Schohawk, I’m referencing to O’Brien Schofield and his awesome mohawk. He dawned the swagger that is his creation during last season but apparently, this year, he decided that it would be best to leave the hair-do at home.

Schofield was able to notch 4 1/2 sacks last season. Not a huge number by any means, but one would not expect a large number of sacks when starting zero games. Schofield had some struggles early on in Ray Horton’s new defensive scheme, rarely finding himself on the field. He eventually opted for using a special arm band that held the play calls, allowing him to be used more frequently.

Once seen as a possible first-round draft pick, Schofield found his way into the NFL through the 4th round by Arizona. He had shredded his knee during a practice for the Shrine Game and Arizona took a chance on him because of his potential. It is finally time for him to live up to that potential and yield dividends on the investment of faith that Arizona put forth into him.

Schofield is no longer a back-up, as he has been given the nod, opposite of Sam Acho, and now has Clark Haggans providing back-up relief. This is his opportunity, his chance to shine, to become that fierce pass-rusher that he believes, and Arizona believes, he can be. Acho is a semi-proven commodity as an ROLB and I personally see Schofield as more gifted than Acho, in terms of pass-rush moves. Projecting one of these two as a 10+ sack OLB is not far fetched to me, or even both.

Still, I don’t think a Schohawk sighting will be made this season. I don’t believe it needs to. Schofield will be recognized for his God-given ability to get to the QB. His play on the field will speak volumes and garner more recognition than any hair-cut would. The Schohawk will fly… just in a different way.