Collegiate Career
Schmidt grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the borough of Brentwood and attended the University of Pittsburgh, playing on the school's football team for three years from 1950–1952. His hard-nosed play and leadership were an integral part of the team during those three years, with his inspirational pre-game speech helping the Panthers upset a heavily-favored team from the University of Notre Dame, 22–19, on October 11, 1952. One player later commented, "Hell, we were more afraid of Schmidt than Notre Dame."
Despite these attributes, Schmidt's size (6 ft, 195 lb; 1.8 m, 88 kg) worked against him in the NFL draft, when the Lions waited until the seventh round to select him. It was not until his arrival at the 1953 College All-Star Game that the Lion coaches, who were opposing him in the contest, saw his talent on display.
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