From CHS to Germany

Over 6,000 yards with a football in his hands as a Clinton Dark Horse led Ryheem Skinner on a journey he didn’t expect — to California, Texas, and now Germany.

The 2017 graduate of CHS amassed 6,171 all-purpose yards for Clinton in his four years, but his breakout year was his sophomore season when he put up 2,043 rushing yards on opposing defenses. He bested these efforts his junior year, gaining 2,173 yards on the ground and going back-to-back with 2,000-plus yard seasons. These efforts kick started what became a journey that took him to a place he didn’t expect multiple times.

“I’ve been playing football for a long time,” said the former Dark Horse in a recent interview. “Every time I go out on the field, I just feel like that’s my safe place.” When he was asked about his motivation on the gridiron, Skinner said he relies heavily on making his anger “look better” as well as outside motivation. “If I have anger, or anything I’m dealing with outside of football, I just take it all out on the field. So that’s what really helps me slip through those holes [in the defense] — I’m probably running angry.”

Skinner said he never modeled his game after anyone in particular — he didn’t want to be the next LaDainian Tomlinson or Marshawn Lynch, he wanted to be the first Ryheem Skinner. “I’ve seen some great running backs, but I’ve never said I wanted to be like anybody,” he said. “It was kind of hard for me to choose who I looked up to, because I would look at different running backs.” That mindset helped him land a spot on the Allan Hancock College’s football roster.

As a Bulldog, he gained 2,043 yards on the ground, averaging over 100 yards a game in the 20 games he played at Allan Hancock over the two seasons, tacking on 21 touchdowns as well. Allan Hancock is a community college located in Santa Maria, Calif, which was a bit of a culture shock for the Clinton native. “I knew this was going to be an opportunity for me to build myself as a young man,” said Skinner. “I didn’t have family across the world — any challenges I knew I had coming I took head-on, by myself.”

But that didn’t mean that Clinton or his upbringing left him, he said. “The hard work, just knowing where I’m from. I used that as motivation,” he explained, an ode to an earlier comment.

“The biggest adjustment I had to make was the importance of responsibility,” said the CHS grad on adjusting to life outside of Sampson County. “Because at that point, I didn’t have my mom washing my clothes. I didn’t have my mom waking me up to get to class. I had to pay rent, I had to get to class on time.” While he spent two years at Allan Hancock, he eventually transferred to Tarleton State University in Burleson, Texas.

In 30 games for the purple-and-white Texans, Skinner gained 1,498 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had four separate 100-plus yard games in his career in Burleson, gaining as many as 197 yards in one game on the ground. He notably scored Tarleton State’s first touchdown as a Division 1 school against McNeese State in the 2020 season. From there, his talents took him to Germany.

A teammate of Skinner’s, from his time at Allan Hancock, played for a Division 5 team in Remscheid, known as the Remscheid Amboss. This connection, one he made during his first time away from home, paid off. “He had played out here a year,” said Skinner. “And he contacted me to ask if I was still playing, because I didn’t know if I was still going to play.”

As far as living in Germany to play football, the Americans are treated like superheroes, a smiling Skinner remarked. “They really enjoy having Americans come in and help out with the team,” he said. “But I’m still learning at the same time, because their perception of football is way different than how we see it. So, I’ve been able to take in their culture of football and combine it with ours, and make it a little more fun. I like seeing how different cultures move.” A truly symbiotic relationship has developed between himself and his teammates, with each side showing the other their own culture.

One part of that culture, according to Ryheem, is the food. Doners are one of his favorites, often frequenting the doner stand at the local mall. “The Germans ask me, ‘What’s your favorite food out here?’,” the enthusiastic Clinton native laughingly said. “And every time, I tell them it’s doners.”

With stops in California, Texas, and now overseas, Skinner said there is still a part of home he misses. “I just miss my family,” he said. “Just being around people you love and stuff like that.” At one point, his family tried to come to Germany to see him, but a mixup with their tickets caused that to fall short. He is hopeful that they will be able to come see him soon. Right now, though, his focus is on this season, which is currently playing.

“This season, I’m looking at being the top back in the league,” the hopeful running back said. “I want to win a championship here.” The Remscheid Amboss were 3-1 going into last weekend’s games, which was good enough to have them at the top spot in their league.

His future is still a journey that he needs to finish, he said. The Dark Horse-turned-Amboss has his eyes set on yet another step up, saying, “I say that it’s still a journey and I’m not settling until I have done everything I can possibly do to at least make it to the NFL, because that’s still my dream.”

“Don’t give up when it doesn’t look good for you at the moment,” were some of his closing words. “The person you really want to be is still out there. You can’t get distracted by your curent situation.”