Outside of Evanston, only a handful of severely socially handicapped people had ever heard of Steve Schnur before this season, and few will ever hear of him again,” Pat Eskew wrote in his column in The Michigan Review in January 1996.

Schnur was the junior quarterback who led Northwestern to its second-ever Rose Bowl appearance and seemingly came out of nowhere to lead the Wildcats to their first bowl game in 47 years.

Now a senior vice president of the Chicago branch of Duke Realty Corp., Schnur said the recognition he garnered as a Rose Bowl quarterback and the year that followed played a vital part in his real estate career.

“Not only did it help me as a person with the discipline and drive it takes to play college football, but I would be remiss if I didn’t think it helped me get where I am,” Schnur said. “You can be a straight-‘A’ student and unfortunately not make headlines. People know who I am. They know my name, and that helps.”

But Schnur was not recognized from the beginning of his college football career.

As a rising junior the spring before the Rose Bowl season, it looked like Schnur was going to be relegated to the bench.

His situation quickly changed.

“I think he ended the spring before his junior year at like third-string quarterback — third-team,” former NU coach and current Colorado coach Gary Barnett said. “And we came back in the fall, we had somebody leave, we had an injury and Steve went right to the starting position and never gave it up.”

Former NU quarterbacks coach and current Tennessee Titans quarterbacks coach Craig Johnson said that because Schnur was a non-factor before the 1995 season began, it led to a lack of recognition during Schnur’s first season playing.

“There was no preseason hype because he was still fighting for his job,” Johnson said. “Then the whole season it was kind of like, Steve who?”

Schnur said other players deserved more attention during the Rose Bowl season, which led him to keep a low profile.

The next season Schnur received more noteriety when NU won its second-straight Big Ten Title and he earned a First-Team All-Big Ten selection.

Schnur used his fifth season at NU to earn a master’s degree in marketing communications from Medill. He took a job in marketing after the season.

After a year in marketing he switched to a job in real estate, something he has stuck with since.

“The leadership skills that he demonstrated on the field led right into his success in business,” Johnson said. “I know someone that’s familiar with his work, and he said for him at such a young age to have accelerated as much as he has is impressive.”

Jennifer Schnur, Steve’s wife, said during the Rose Bowl frenzy she didn’t know what her husband’s days as NU’s quarterback meant.

She also said people around the area still recognize Steve Schnur.

“I guess while at Northwestern I didn’t fully realize the impact that the team had on sports fans all over Chicagoland,” Jennifer Schnur said.

Steve Schnur said because the Rose Bowl team brought success to a program that wasn’t used to having much notoriety, a special bond was created between the teammates.

“We’re not a powerhouse,” Steve Schnur said. “So when we have a season like ours, it may be a little corny, but it just seemed to be a little sweeter for us.”

Former NU tight end Darren Drexler said the bond the team found during the Big Ten championship seasons lives on today.

“We all kind of stay in regular contact,” Drexler said. “I probably stay in touch with Steve on e-mail or phone once a week or every two weeks.”

Steve Schnur said he not only has continued to keep in contact with his former teammates, but he has maintained his ties with NU.

He is a member of the NU Gridiron Network and is a member of NU’s Committee on Athletics and Recreation.

Because Schnur still lives near NU, fans still approach him with memories of the Rose Bowl season.

“People still talk about it like it was last year,” Steve Schnur said. “And I still run into people that recognize me.

“The name is recognizable, but I’m not that big of a guy, so I don’t really stick out.”

Reach Abe Rakov at [email protected].