Schuckman: QHS products’ legacy with UCM football program comes in form of effort, leadership

Before stepping to the podium and addressing his teammates for a final time, Zack Aschemann remembered all the words of wisdom imparted year after year by the seniors leaving the University of Central Missouri football program.

“They’re just passing down traits and advice you don’t know you’re going to end up using but you end up using by the time you have to stand up and give a speech,” Aschemann said.

Deven Smith had the this-is-really-happening realization when it came his time to speak.

“I’m standing at the podium and I’m thinking, ‘I’m really standing up here. I’m about to graduate,’” Smith said.

And leave a legacy.

The Quincy High School graduates — Aschemann in 2017 and Smith in 2018 — were asked to speak at the Mules’ final team meeting as all departing seniors do. They spent the past four years playing together on the defensive side of the ball for the Mules, helping them win 22 games over three full seasons and the program’s first Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association championship since 2003 when the Mules went 11-2 in 2019.

This fall, the Mules were 4-7 with Aschemann, a defensive lineman, and Smith, a linebacker, both earning All-MIAA honorable mention.

It was the total experience, not the ups and downs of their final season, that left a lasting impression and prepared them to impart their own words of wisdom to the returning Mules.

“I was trying to give whatever advice I could to the younger guys,” Smith said. “I was fumbling with my words at first, but then I just told them to take it day-by-day and the bond is the biggest thing it comes down to when you want to be successful.”

The bond develops and strengthens no matter each player’s age.

Aschemann was a fifth-year senior, having redshirted in 2017, and the only remaining member of his freshman class along the defensive line. It meant working with freshmen and sophomores on a daily basis and being a mentor as much as a teammate.

“It taught me how to be a leader and how to teach,” Aschemann said. “Some of my favorite parts of this season were seeing the young guys pick up something they had been struggling with. Those are the coolest takeaways, and it just builds from there.

“Those guys might be two or three years younger than me, but those are guys I’ll be talking to the rest of my life. You just don’t make friends like that if you didn’t play sports.”

It made their decision to attend UCM, an NCAA Division II program in Warrensburg, Mo., ideal.

“I wanted to play football and I wanted to be an impact player,” said Aschemann, who finished his career with 64 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. “I wanted to compete and I wanted a job right when I got there. So when I came to Central Missouri, I was like, ‘Whoever is in front of me, I’m going to go take his job. This is my chance to football.’

“The longer I stayed there, it made me proud of the decision I made to go play football there.”

Smith found his true love for the game and the program through the camaraderie of the summer months.

“It’s the summers where I found my most joy and somewhat hate at the same time,” said Smith, who wrapped up his career with 118 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries. “Everyone’s broke during the summer, so you have to find a job and then you’re working eight hours a day or however long you need to pay off rent.

“Then you go straight to weights and chop it up with the guys who go to weights. It’s not even the games that bring the most joy. It’s the moments no one else sees.”

Those are countless and inspiring, as is the effort it takes to play a full career at a high level in an incredibly tough conference.

Their determination is why Aschemann and Smith will succeed beyond the field. Both are headed to Kansas City, Mo., following graduation. Aschemann has designs on becoming a firefighter and eventually getting into coaching, while Smith has a job lined up as a landscaper and plans to do car detailing on the side.

No matter what comes next, it will be difficult to duplicate the fun brought about in the locker room or on road trips the past four years.

“Those are the moments I’ll hold on to,” Smith said. “I’m definitely going to miss it.”