TCU center surprised by ‘really cool’ all-conference selection

TCU center Austin Schlottmann, who missed two games with a leg injury, said his all-conference selection surprised him.

“That was really cool, actually,” he said Tuesday in a press conference at the Liberty Bowl. “I wasn’t expecting that. That was an honor, definitely, from the coaches.”

Schlottmann was voted second-team center on the All-Big 12 team by the league’s coaches in his first season as the starter. He was the only offensive player from TCU on the first or second teams.

Schlottmann, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound junior from Brenham, made 10 starts, but missed the second half of the SMU game and the following two games against Oklahoma and Kansas.

“Those two weeks off were really what was difficult, just not being able to play,” he said. “But I learned a lot about the offense, actually, doing that, looking at what really goes on. I think it actually helped me.”

Schlottmann, one of four juniors who started on the offensive line for TCU, he said he wants to get “leaner, stronger and smarter in the game.”

Co-offensive coordinator Doug Meacham said Schlottmann had it tough playing on a leg injury, but that he still had to do his job.

“He played well enough to be all-conference, but I think he can play better,” Meacham said. “And I think we’ve just got to do a better job coaching him. We’ve got to do a better job of finding the next guy and the combinations you have in case something like that happens.”

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 8:05 PM with the headline "TCU center surprised by ‘really cool’ all-conference selection."