Safety
Wildlife Conservation & Management – 3.93 GPA
Head Coach: Terry Allen
Athletics Director: Kyle Moats
An athlete touted by Coach Terry Allen as an “All-American in every sense of the word,” Schaffitzel embodies the scholar-athlete ideal, and he becomes the Bears’ first-ever NFF National Scholar Athlete.
Schaffitzel is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, earning first team honors in 2013 and second team accolades in 2012. He was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a two-time First-Team Academic All-Missouri Valley Football Conference pick. Schaffitzel is a three-year recipient of the MVFC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award, and the 2013 recipient of the MVFC President’s Council Academic Award. He has been named to the MSU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and the MSU Dean’s list every semester.
On the field, Schaffitzel earned 2013 consensus First-Team All-American honors, making the Associated Press, The Sports Network and Walter Camp lists, and he twice claimed First-Team All-MVFC accolades. In 2012, the safety was named the CFPA FCS National Defensive Back of the Year and an AP Third-Team All-American. A dominant presence on the gridiron, Schaffitzel is a two-time MSU team MVP, and he is the MSU career leader in interception return yards. For the past two seasons he has posted 100-plus tackles (per season), and he has led his team in tackles and interceptions. Last season, the safety ranked second in the MVFC and 43rd in the nation in tackles per game (9.1). Schaffitzel currently leads the Bears in tackles in 2014, and he has recorded 381 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 10 interceptions and 38 pass deflections in his career.
The Fair Grove, Mo., native was the winner of the Missouri Valley Good Neighbor Award, and he was recognized in 2013 with the MVFC Leadership and Service Award. He is a member of several campus organizations, including the MSU Student-Athlete Advisory Council, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Cru and Varsity Club. An active volunteer, Schaffitzel has donated his time to help Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, Meals a Million, the Bears READ program, Healthy Heroes and Champions Committed to Kids.
