The 1992 signing date was quickly approaching. Like many other high school seniors, Steve Schnur wanted to wear his future school's cap when he signed the dotted line at University High in St. Louis.

"I looked all over the place and couldn't find a Northwestern cap to buy,'' he says with a laugh. "When I told people I was going to Northwestern, they thought I was going to Northwest Missouri State. I lot of people didn't know where Northwestern was located.

"I finally had to call the football office and ask them to send me a cap. Now Northwestern apparel is all over the place and people across the nation know where it is located.''

As the quarterback for the Wildcats' run to the roses in 1995, Schnur played a huge role in the cultural change around Evanston. But earning that job and the trust of head coach Gary Barnett did not come easy.

A first team all-state selection as a senior, Schnur had set school career records for passing yardage (4,444 yards) and completions (306). Leading his team to the state finals as a senior, he passed for 2,211 yards with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. However, he only stood six feet tall and those college linemen would be a lot bigger.

"It came down to Northwestern and Missouri,'' he says. "Mizzou wasn't what it is today, so for me it came down to the quality of education I would receive and the opportunity to play in the Big Ten.

"I didn't meet Barnett until I came for my recruiting visit. I knew the minute I got here it was a good fit, but our work was going to be cut out for us. Barnett was a natural leader, very charismatic and likeable. He could relate to anyone. He had a lot of confidence about what he was trying to do.

"Those first two classes were the type of individuals Northwestern needed for what was coming -- good leaders who believed in hard work and were committed to what Gary Barnett was trying to do,'' he added.

With veteran Lenny Williams returning at quarterback, Schnur expected to be redshirted as a true freshman. However, because the Wildcats were so thin at the position, Schnur made the travel squad as the No. 3 quarterback.

"Lenny was not shy about running with the football and he never liked to slide,'' Schnur says. "Every time he took off, I'm saying, 'Slide,' because I was worried I would have to go into the game. I never got in, but it was a great experience to travel and see what college football was all about.''

As a redshirt freshman the following season, Schnur got the call to start the Iowa game because Williams had suffered cracked ribs the previous week. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 202 yards, with one touchdown and an interception during a 23-19 loss.

"During our pre-game breakfast, Barnett booted two of my top receivers off the team,'' he says with a laugh. "At least he kept Lee Gissendaner around.

"Those first few seasons were very hard. Obviously, everyone has to go through a learning process. It was tough sledding. Northwestern was going through changes with al the new players brought in and the ones who were still there (from Francis Peay). You had players who bought in and those who didn't.''

Coming out of spring drills, Schnur figured to have the inside track to the starting job in 1994. But early in the summer, he received a phone call from quarterbacks coach Craig Johnson.

"He (Johnson) told me they had just signed a junior college transfer (Tim Hughes),'' he says. "So he was added to the mix with Chris Hamdorf, Lloyd Abramson (a highly-touted freshman from Michigan) and myself. I thought I had proved myself, but Tim was given the job coming out of camp.

"That was a tough year for me personally. Our quarterback play was bad and I felt I should be starting. There was a lot of drama and I just resigned myself to help the team anyway I could.''

During that 3-7-1 season, Hughes started the first eight games. Schnur started the final three contests -- all lopsided losses. He finished the season with 61 completions in 117 attempts for 890 yards, with four touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The offseason workouts intensified, whether it was in groups or just individually. Schnur especially remembers returning to the apartment he shared with tight end Darren Drexler early one morning.

"I had been working on my speed, not that I had a lot, and my 40 time that morning was slower than it had been,'' he says. "I came in and threw my shoes hard against the wall. Drexler rolls over in his bed and says, 'Hey, it's not the shoes.' Then he rolled back over. And he wonders why I never threw the ball to him!''

Many people thought Abramson would live up to his credentials and take over in 1995. After the spring, Schnur and Abramson both had jobs at the Chicago Board of Trade.

"I picked him up each morning for the drive to work,'' Schnur says. "Then one morning he wasn't there, so I left without him. I didn't realize until later in the day that he had packed up and gone home. So it was down to Hughes, Hamdorf and myself for the starting job.

"Barnett waited until the week of the Notre Dame game before he finally named me as the starting quarterback. It's not like any of us were tearing the cover off the ball in camp, but I felt I deserved it.''

According to Schnur, his biggest singular moment of that '95 season was throwing two touchdown passes in the season opening upset of Notre Dame.

"I have so many memories from that season. It all came together that day and we realized we could compete with anyone. The wins over Michigan and Penn State were phenomenal, but the program had never been at that level before, where we beat a highly ranked team at their place.

"We were really focused every week. I don't remember having a bye week, so from one week to another you have Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, etc. We never really had a chance to poke our heads above water and look around.

"As crazy as things were getting with the media, Gary Barnett kept us focused,'' he added. "I think were all just naïve about all of this. It seemed like we were dealing with the media every day.''

As the victories kept coming, so did the media crush. In those days, the players' phone numbers were listed and it was not unusual for a player to receive an interview request late at night.

"I'd be sitting there watching a movie with Jennifer (his girlfriend and now his wife) and the phone would start ringing for an interview,'' he says. "We were just soaking it all in and having fun.''

The craziness reached its peak when legendary coach Joe Paterno and his Penn State team came to Evanston for a game under the lights. An overflow crowd turned out in Dyche Stadium.

"I remember the referee having to stop the game because I couldn't see the play clock in the south end zone; there were so many people standing in front of it,'' he says. "They had to actually tell those people to sit down.''

Schnur vividly remembers the controversial play in the Rose Bowl, when he hit Brian Musso with a 30-yard pass and the ball popped out as the Wildcat receiver hit the ground. A Southern Cal player returned the fumble 53 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

"Instant replay would show Musso's knee was down,'' he says. "That guy had three blockers in front of him and I made a feeble attempt to tackle him.''

Schnur started all 12 games in 1995 and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. He completed 141 of 257 passes for 1,792 yards, with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

With the Wildcats more focused on offense in 1996, he came back to earn first-team all-conference honors after completing 221 of 368 passes for 2,632 yards, with 17 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He stands eighth in Wildcat history in total offense (5,542 yards), sixth in touchdown passes (32), eighth in passing yardage (5,679 yards) and ninth in completions (443).

"As time goes on, you realize what an impact we had on the whole Northwestern community,'' he says. "I think our team was a big boon to the marketing department.

"The '96 season was almost more gratifying for me. We came in as a conference favorite and the offense played a bigger role that year. In '95, I was asked to manage the offense and we counted heavily on our defense.''

Schnur, who was inducted into Northwestern's Hall of Fame in 2012, is now executive vice president at Duke Realty, a multimillion-dollar company dealing in commercial real estate. Living in Hinsdale, he and Jennifer have four children: Ellie (12), Steven (11), Emma (9) and Blake (5).

Through the years, Schnur has remained heavily involved in Northwestern. He has served with the N Club and the Northwestern Gridiron Network, as well as being a season ticket holder.

"I try to have a Northwestern player as an intern every year,'' he says. "I talk to the players about life without football.

"I try to bring the family to every home game. It's fun to talk to the people about how much our team meant to them. The only home games I usually miss are when I am coaching my son's Hinsdale Falcons football team, which I've done for the past four years. The Falcons do take precedence over the Wildcats on those days.

"It's always fun to come back to Northwestern for football games,'' he added. "The tailgates are massive now. There are flags and RVs everywhere. This stuff didn't exist 20 years ago, so I like to think we were responsible for getting the ball rolling.''