Stephen Schilling

Stephen Dana Schilling (born July 21, 1988) is a former American football offensive guard.

On September 4, 2004, as a junior, he helped Bellevue end the high school football record 151-game winning streak by De La Salle High School in front of 24,987 at the second annual Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest Field by a 39–20 score.

Early in his junior season, he got his first scholarship offer from the University of Washington.

The 6 ft 280 lbs Schilling, who wore #52 in high school, played on both the offensive line and defensive line.

Prior to the state championship game he was named to the All-area football team by The Seattle Times.

He helped his 13–0 team become the first school from the state of Washington to win five state championships in 2004.

For the championship week effort Schilling, who played offensive tackle, was selected as The Seattle Times' Class 3A male athlete of the week.

During the season, Schilling was known for his training habits.

At the end of the football season, he was selected to All-State teams both by the Associated Press and The Seattle Times.

During his junior basketball season, he was a solid contributor to team scoring and rebounding.

He averaged 10.6 points/game during his junior season.

At the end of his junior year he was named the number 25 football prospect in the nation and the number three offensive tackle by Rivals.com.

In July prior to his senior season, he was included in a Reebok Western All-American list in Sports Illustrated.

Early in his senior season, running a Wing T offense, Bellevue again defeated a highly regarded California high school in a game at Qwest Field.

He was honored as the 2008 Michigan Wolverines football team's best offensive lineman as a redshirt sophomore before being nationally recognized as a Lombardi Award watchlist candidate in 2009.

He was included on the 2009 preseason watchlist for the Lombardi Award.

He had previously been a two-time Associated Press first-team Class 3A All-state selection in Washington for the Bellevue High School Wolverines football team where he played on three state champion teams.

Born and raised in Bellevue, Washington, Schilling grew up playing basketball until high school.

In high school, he was a member of the three-time state champion team.

He became a star offensive lineman who was a standout Seattle athlete as his high school won its third consecutive state championship in his junior year.

He won numerous all-area and all-state honors as a junior and a senior and was highly touted on the national level.

He was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and as one of the nominees for Parade All-American Player of the Year.

After being highly recruited by several top college football programs and narrowing his list to several Pacific-10 Conference football teams and University of Michigan, he decided to attend Michigan.

At Michigan, he redshirted as a true Freshman and then started the following year.

When the team transitioned from head coach Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez during his redshirt sophomore season, he became one of the few experienced players to endure the change.

He has since anchored the offensive line composed of less experienced players.

He was selected as a 2009 and 2010 All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention.

On September 16, 2009, they defeated the Long Beach Polytechnic High School, who had been ranked number three by the USA Today.

He was a 2010 Outland Trophy watch list candidate.

He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

He began his NFL career on the practice squad.

He was activated prior to week 8 of the 2011 NFL season (his rookie year), and played in several subsequent games for the team.

He has also played for the Seattle Seahawks.

He announced his retirement on April 2, 2015.

When Schilling was young, he was too large to play organized football with kids his own age because Bellevue's youth leagues were regulated by weight-age limits, which caused him to take up basketball instead.

Schilling says that his true love was basketball and that he would probably not have experimented with football, but the coach of the basketball team resigned right before his freshman season.

During the summer prior to his freshman year, Schilling first visited the Bellevue High School weight room where he noticed the intensity and camaraderie.

He eventually became a three-year starter for the football team.

As a sophomore, Schilling was part of the Bellevue championship football team whose season extended long enough to interfere with him participating in the early part of the basketball season as a sophomore.

The championship, which came as a result of a ten-game winning streak to close the season, made the Bellevue Wolverines three-time Class 3A state champions.