"Every True Son's" Truest Son: Cody Schrader's Roots Motivate Him to Rushing Excellence for Mizzou

'Truman' Photo Credit: Finite Focus via Flickr

At 5'9" and 214 lbs., Cody Schrader didn't look like much to Division 1 programs. The Lutheran South High School and St. Louis, Missouri product was seen as undersized, not quick enough, and overall, just not the type of athlete Division 1 school wanted in a running back. His 6,500 career yards and 99 touchdowns were completely overlooked by bigger schools, including his dream hometown school of Missouri, and Schrader was doubted once again. “I’ve had that (something to prove mindset) since I was a little kid. No matter what I did on the football field, I’ve always been doubted. So that ‘something to prove’ has always been my internal motivation for myself," Schrader said in an interview with KSDK5's Corey Miller. Cody would have to settle for playing college ball at Division II Truman State coming out of high school, however, as seen by this quote and by his style of play, settling wasn't in Cody's nature.

The story of Cody Schrader's college football career is centered around the art of not settling and demanding excellence from not only yourself but your teammates as well. Schrader spent his first two years at Truman, as a backup, racking up 605 yards and 7 touchdowns. Schrader wasn't satisfied with playing DII ball and wanted to do something about it, but when you've already been cast out by Division I coaches, what can you do as a player? Especially as a backup? Work, that's what, and that's exactly what Cody did.

“Out of high school when I ended up going to Truman State I thought I’d play four or five years there, graduate with a degree there, and then move on to real life. Once the transfer portal happened, I started to learn more about that," Schrader said further to KSDK5's Miller. Schrader saw his opportunity, but in order to take it, he would have to put people on notice. Schrader did just that after his COVID-19-shortened 3rd season, as with his 4th year at Truman, he made his mark as one of the best football players to come out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Schrader racked up 2074 yards, 25 touchdowns, 6.9 yards/carry off 300 carries, and 172.8 yards/game. Unreal numbers that earned Schrader first-team all-conference and attention from bigger schools. One of those schools was the school Schrader had dreams of going to, and he transferred in 2022 as a walk-on. Schrader would share carries with Nate Peat that year, and form a dangerous rushing tandem. He would rack up 745 yards, 9 touchdowns, 137 yards receiving, and 4.4 yards/carry. Things would only go up from there. In 2022, Schrader was put on scholarship, and in 2023, he was named a team captain, the stuff hometown kids dream of when playing for their hometown school. So far this year, he's amassed 919 yards, 10 touchdowns, 75 yards receiving, and 5.0 yards/carry, already surpassing his numbers from last year with 3 games left in the regular season. He's slated himself as one of the better backs in the SEC, and is up there with some of the best backs in the nation as well, being named to the Doak Walker watch list.

“I want to leave everything out here. I don’t really care about what happens in the future. The future will take care of itself. I want to give everything to this team. I want to win. I want to change the culture here. That was always my mindset when I first got here. I wanted to be something that people would always remember, not just myself, but as a team, and I think that’s something I think the whole team wants to chase this year," Schrader concluded in his interview with Miller. A leader, a fighter, and a go-getter, all accurate ways of describing Cody Schrader. The tenacity this man has shown is infectious and is one of the main reasons Missouri sits at 7-2 and is one of the top teams in the SEC. His performance against Georgia put the nation on notice, and it's about time someone gave him his flowers. The true definition, of a true son.