by Janell Turner - Department of Agricultural and Applied ...

Right Tackle to Vice President
by Janell Turner
Since playing right tackle for Texas Tech University from 1992 to 1997,
Lynn Scherler has gone from crunching helmets to crunching numbers
after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural and
applied economics.
Scherler is now vice president of Lubbock's agribusiness banking
group, CoBank. CoBank has been offering financial solutions to their
customers since 1916.
Raised in the small town of Sheridan Lake, Colo., Scherler played
six-man football before making his way to Texas where he played for
Plainview High School.
Former Texas Tech football coach, Spike Dykes, recruited
Scherler as an offensive tackle in 1992.
"I went up to Colorado to visit with Lynn and his family,"
Dykes said. "They were great people. His mom and dad had their
own plane, so they were able to come down and watch Lynn play
quite a bit. The offensive line is a unique group of blue-collar guys
who work everyday and don't ever expect to receive any kind of
spotlight."
Scherler remembers when Dykes came on the recruiting visit.
"We were in the middle of nowhere," he said. "My mom made fried
pork chops and I matched Spike for every one he ate. I bet we had about
a six inch stack."
Scherler said he was fortunate because Dykes always took a good
look at smaller schools for recruitment.
"If you look at the population, Spike took a pretty good risk at a lot
of smaller schools," Scherler said.
Adjusting to the changes of college football and a larger school
was not a problem for Scherler.
"Lynn adjusted well. He was a great leader, team oriented and
unselfish," Dykes said. "He always represented Texas Tech very well."
Dykes said he had a number of athletes within the College of
Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
"We had quite a few athletes in the ag college," Dykes said.
"That's just one of the things Texas Tech has to offer - a great
relationship with the ag college."
Dr. Phillip Johnson, associate professor and director of the
Thornton Agricultural Finance Institute, stated most of his
agricultural and applied economic student athletes were from rural
backgrounds.
"I have had several student athletes in my classes over time,"
Johnson said. "I have found them to be very good students. Most of
course were from rural backgrounds and had developed a strong
work ethic."
Scherler's background included living on his parents' 14,000
acre farming operation in addition to their agricultural sales business.
Texas Tech's agricultural and applied economics department
focuses their studies on economic theory and analysis, physical
sciences, mathematics, statistics and communications. The department
tries to prepare graduates to manage business operations in a variety
of fields.
Scherler said playing football 30 to 40 hours a week, while
maintaining a good GPA, was no different than students who had
full-time jobs.
"Actually, my grades were better in the fall semester than the
spring," Scherler said. "I was always more disciplined in the fall
semester."
Scherler played right tackle for the Red Raiders as number 67. (photo provided
by Athletic Media Relations)
Today, Scherler suits up for CoBank as Vice President of the Agribusiness Banking
Group. (photo by Janell Turner)

Scherler said there were not many football players who were in the agricultural economics department; most usually go on to be coaches.
"When I first came to Texas Tech, I was going to be a physical therapist," Scherler said. "After a few weeks I decided that I was around those football
guys enough, so I talked to Cary Mathis in the agricultural and applied economics department. It just felt like home."
Scherler was proud to say they were the first Texas Tech team to ever go to four straight bowl games. The last game of Scherler's college football career,
he suffered a knee injury.
"Lynn called me after the Oklahoma game in the fall of 1996 to tell me he would not be in class because he had injured his knee," Dr. Johnson
remembers. "That shows that he was conscientious and didn't take his education lightly."
Dykes said Scherler was an outstanding player who had a lot of potential. "He was a great ambassador for Texas Tech. I never had any doubt that Lynn
would be successful," Dykes said. "One of the great things about being a coach is having your athletes go out and become successful after graduation."
Scherler and his wife have season tickets and attend as many football games as possible. “I have two little girls and one more kid on the way," Scherler
said. "On the weekends, I like to get up and cook my little girls' breakfast. I have really been blessed."
Scherler recommends an agricultural and applied economics degree to anyone. “It was pretty diverse, and I think, more challenging," Scherler said. "They
demand more with the one-on-one attention and the faculty."
On the field, Scherler focuses in on a player from Rice University. (photo provided byAthletic Media Relations)