Mike Scheper is the most animated member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders coaching staff, and it’s not even close. He prances up and down the practice field with the grace of a gazelle while barking out orders like a rabid dog.
“That man is just a ball of energy. If you’re not excited for practice he’ll definitely get you in the mood,” said Riders left tackle Xavier Fulton. “He’s our little firecracker.”
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Scheper wasn’t always a “little firecracker.”
Once upon a time he was an offensive lineman for the Utah State Aggies, which is absolutely baffling considering his current trim physique. Scheper said he lost 125 pounds after his football career came to a close.
“I hit a treadmill for an hour everyday and started drinking a gallon of water everyday, and reduced my calorie input and kept increasing my calorie output,” Scheper said.
“I started playing basketball and different types of things to keep me from getting bored to death, and it just fell right off of me.”
Players like Xavier Fulton can’t wrap their heads around the fact that Scheper, who now possesses the body type of a cornerback, could have possibly been an offensive lineman.
“He said he was 300 pounds. Where? Someone tell me where,” Fulton questioned. “I can not imagine having 300 pounds on that frame. 300 pounds on this frame is hard for me, I don’t know how he did it.”
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Scheper has been coaching football for 14 years. He loves the game and couldn’t see himself doing anything else.
“I have no applicable skills … if you hand me a hammer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other, I’ll shrug my shoulders and say ‘which one is which?'” Scheper explained.
“I couldn’t do anything else and live a normal life. This is all I got so I’m pouring every ounce into it.”
This is Scheper’s second stint with the green and white. He was Saskatchewan’s defensive line coach from 2009-10, but this time around Scheper is in charge of the Riders O-Line, his area of expertise.
“Like a hand fitting a glove perfectly. That’s my DNA, it bleeds out of my pores, it’s every fibre of my being, so I’m very pleased and I plan on sticking around hopefully for a while.”