TicketsBearcat Spotlight: Josh Shneyderov
9/2/2003
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by Christie Hadley, Sports Information Intern
Diligence, determination and drive?three characteristics possessed by the University of Cincinnati?s starting center, Josh Shneyderov. Three characteristics that have put his name on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, given annually to the top college center in the nation. Three characteristics that earned him the honor of Jewish Sports Review 2002 College Football All-American, and three characteristics that brought this third-year starter back for his fifth season as a Bearcat, despite the excruciating back pain he has suffered for nearly two years.
You would never guess that anything bothers Shneyderov. This unassuming 22-year-old from Indianapolis, Indiana greeted me with a firm handshake and a welcoming smile as the interview began at the Higher Ground Conference Center, the Bearcats? preseason training site in Indiana.
?Step into my office,? he said with a grin as he approached a portable tub of ice water, and lowered himself in with ease. ?It isn?t too bad yet.?
Known as the leader on the line, it?s easy to see why this 6-2, 272 pound ?iron-man? would be very intimidating face to face across the line. He owns a personal-best of 1,325 pounds in the leg press, the second best mark on the team. He also squats 690 pounds, benches 390 and set the school record for centers with 25 repetitions of 225 pounds. Following his redshirt season in 1999, he was named to the C-USA All-Freshman team as a reserve in 2000 and has hardly missed a down the last two years. However, once on the sideline, he is very jovial and surprisingly humble.
?Being called the leader of the line is kind of a label I guess,? Shneyderov said from his tub of ice. ?There are five of us out there, and we all know what to do. There?s nobody that needs to be led, per se. They all know what to do, and they get the job done.?
Without question, Shneyderov is deserving of the label. He was chosen as the team?s recipient of the John Pease Award as the best offensive lineman in 2001 and started in 13 games last season, missing only the Southern Miss game due to injury.
He is also the only remaining Bearcat who was coached by Larry Zierlein, now in his third season as the offensive line coach of the Cleveland Browns. Zierlein is known for his fundamentals, and Shneyderov does him proud. But, keeping with his team-player attitude, Shneyderov is also very supportive of his new coach, Steve Shankweiler, who is entering his first season with Cincinnati.
?Being with Coach Zierlein, I didn?t get as much attention as the older guys, but I still did pick up a lot of stuff from him,? he said of his former coach. ?But Coach Shankweiler, he?s taken me out of a lot of bad habits this year, and you know, he?s a darn good coach. Just seeing myself on tape in the last week or so, I can tell there is a big difference just because of Coach Shank.?
Shneyderov graduated with his degree in accounting this June, and is working towards another major, taking classes in marketing, computers and real estate in the fall. He came back so he could to play football for one more year.
?I tried to walk away, I just couldn?t do it,? he explained. ?My back was telling me, ?that?s it, you?re going to have to walk later on down in life,? but I couldn?t do it. My eligibility is up after this season, so I guess I can?t come back anymore after that, but they?re going to have to force me out.?
Josh first knew there was a problem with his back at the 2000 Motor City Bowl. Thinking it was only a pulled hamstring, he treated it for about a month, but it wasn?t improving. Then one day, it gave out on him.
?I couldn?t move,? Shneyderov said remembering that moment. ?I knew something was definitely wrong.?
?It feels like somebody?s got my hamstring by the top and bottom, and they are just pulling as hard as they can. It just shoots down the back of my leg. It kills to play, but for some reason, usually it?s gone when I step on the field, but afterwards, man. It takes about a half an hour to come back, once I try to sit or lay down. But getting another conference championship, of course it?s worth it.?
Shneyderov said, without hesitation, that the highlight of his college career was the 2002 Conference USA title. The Bearcats never gave up the lead in the Dec. 6 championship-clinching game at East Carolina. Cincinnati dominated, beating the Pirates 42-26, and capturing a league title for the first time since 1964.
?Last year at East Carolina, that was the pinnacle, when we won the conference championship,? Shneyderov stated. ?We had already lost two games, and East Carolina did us a favor the week before when we were in Hawaii, beating TCU, and then it was just up to us. We win, we win the conference. We lose?nothing. And we won. In the locker room afterwards, everybody was chanting ?champs, champs, champs.? That was the best.?
In his last year Josh?s number one goal is to capture another conference title. He also would like to beat Miami (OH) to bring the Victory Bell back to Cincinnati, down Louisville for the second year in a row to keep the Keg of Nails, and win the Liberty Bowl. He says any ?personal accolades that come along would just be extra.?
But this modest player has already received individual honors. He was chosen as a 2003 All-Conference USA Pre-Season pick and a 2002 Jewish All-American. His name also appears on the Rimington Pre-Season Watch list.
?I?m shocked to be honest with you,? he said with a shy smile. ?I?ve checked out the watch lists, and there are a ton of great players out there. I guess it?s just an honor to be on the same list as them. I mean, I don?t really consider myself to be the best center, but anything is possible I guess. ?
One of the most impressive of all Shneyderov?s distinctions was being chosen for the Jewish All-American team. Shneyderov, who practices his religion as much as he can, was honored to receive the award.
?I just got notified that I was a 2002 Jewish All-American. That?s pretty great because I get to say that I?m the only current all-American on the team. It?s awesome.?
Despite all of the recognition Shneyderov is receiving for his talent, the fact that he even plays the sport of football is shocking when you consider his background. His father boxed, wrestled, and played soccer (European football) in his native Russia, and so did Josh in his youth.
?I boxed, I wrestled, I played soccer when I was younger. I didn?t even start out playing football. My mom wouldn?t let me because she thought I would get hurt. I started playing tennis, got cut from the team, and asked if I could go out for the football team in the seventh grade. I didn?t see any time (on the field) until my junior year (in high school).?
But, at a school of 3,400 people, playing as a junior is an impressive feat all on its own, not to mention the fact that he earned all-county, all-conference, and all-state accolades both his junior and senior years at North Central High School.
?It made me proud,? Shneyderov said of his high school career. ?I mean playing as a junior is something that a lot of people take for granted. In my school, with 150 guys on the team, mostly seniors get to play and that?s about it. But being able to play as a junior, that was awesome.?
He was recruited by almost all of the Ivy League schools, but chose to go to UC because of scholarship money and the short drive back home to Indianapolis. With close family ties, location was a definite plus.
?You can?t really do anything without your family,? Shneyderov said poignantly. ?They?ve been behind me in everything I?ve done from soccer to boxing to wrestling to football. They are the reason why I?m here in my fifth year of football. Without your family, you?re nothing.?
Shneyderov credits the family?s closeness to his Russian heritage. His parents, Nina and Louis, immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1978. Moving to escape religious persecution, they settled in Indianapolis to be near Shneyderov?s uncle, who came over a few years before.
?With being Jewish, they couldn?t practice their religion freely,? he said of his parents? move. ?They always tell me it was for me because they didn?t want to have another child in Russia, so they didn?t. They came over here and had me three years later.?
Josh has an older sister, Irene, who lives in Nashville. Josh says that the difference in their ages (10 years) doesn?t really matter. They were close growing up, and are getting closer now that they are both older. Irene also has a son, Jakob, that makes Josh very proud.
?It?s sweet,? Josh said about being an uncle. ?I love the kid to death. I only get to see him a couple times a year, but when I do, he just shoots up in height every time. He just makes me laugh, crazy guy.?
The closeness of the family continues, despite the physical distance separating them. They go to almost every home football game, and travel to many away games as well. His girlfriend, Amanda, and her family join them often, making the Shneyderov following a sizable one. He makes them proud off the field as well, earning scholar athlete distinction every quarter he has been at UC. Outside of football, Shneyderov?s most memorable moment was earning his degree.
?I just graduated. I just got my diploma last week. When my mom told me that on the phone that just felt like ?wow, I can?t believe I did it.? Working 16 years you think it?s never going to come, and it came.?
When asked if there was any little known fact about him, Josh grinned, and said, ?I?m great at golf.? He then laughed and stated that in reality he isn?t very good, but he loves to play. So, if not the PGA Tour, what comes next for Josh?
?In January, who knows,? Shneyderov said. ?Going to chase the dream for a while, if the back holds up. If it doesn?t work out, I have the degree to fall back on. You know, if the [NFL] doesn?t work out then the real world I suppose, whatever that is.?
With all his accomplishments, honors, and records, Josh Shneyderov is a man known for his perseverance and determination. He fights through shooting pain to place his snaps perfectly and hits the defense with no fear. He earned his degree with a grade point average above a 3.0. He quietly lets his teammates and coaches take the spotlight while he takes a back seat, shocked when people notice his talent. And as for his time at UC?
?I want to be remembered as one of the best centers, a team guy. I gave it all while I was here. I gave it all.?