This Ex-Trojan a True Rebel With a Cause : Rams: After being cut by the Colts, lineman Schultz is out to win a job, not a popularity contest.

Meet Bill Schultz, the Ram offensive lineman with the Mohawk haircut, goatee and surly disposition.

OK, so the Indianapolis Colts weren’t impressed. They cut him.

“They said it was due to me making so much money,” Schultz said. “But I think the coaching staff just didn’t like me very much.”

Understandable.

“I’ve had a couple of the guys tell me to cut the tail off,” Schultz said, “and I’ve just looked at them and told them to kiss . . . “

Four years in Indianapolis before the Colts cut him?

“To have a place on the team I shouldn’t have to kiss . . .”

First impressions sometimes can be deceiving.

“People are going to see a mean . . . . on the field,” Schultz said. “If I’m going to run-block somebody, I’m going to put them on their . . .”

What about reporters?

“I’m not here to impress anyone, I’m here to do a job,” he said. “I’ll wear the same set of clothing all month. I don’t care. I’m not here to smell good. I’ve got one job and that’s to play well on the football field. If I stink, fine.”

Future interviews, of course, will be conducted by phone, but while the winds are blowing right, there still is time to learn:

--William Schultz, reared in Granada Hills, and starting left tackle for USC in the 1990 Rose Bowl victory over Michigan.

--Forced into action against Lawrence Taylor in Schultz’s rookie season for the Colts. “Held the hell out of him, and he called me every name in the book,” Schultz said.

--Owns a Corvette and a Harley Davidson--each with the license plate MOHAWK. Is superstitious.

--Blamed his release in Indianapolis on fact he shaved his head bald. Credits his good fortune in joining the Rams on fact he switched to a Mohawk cut day before team signed him.

“I’m very superstitious,” he said. “I put my left sock on first before every game, write my grandmother’s name on my wrist tape before putting on my gloves, walk on the field to see how my shoes feel before putting on my pads and then throw up once or twice.”

--Becomes upset when told he looks odd, and downright angry when puny sportswriters ask if he owns a mirror and ever uses it. “I thought about cutting my hair off and coming in like everybody else, but I’m not like everybody else. I’m one of a kind.”

The Rams like him. “If you got four earrings, I don’t give a damn,” offensive line coach Jim Erkenbeck said. “I kind of like the Mohawk. Individuality. This guy can play. He volunteered to play left tackle for us. He wants to make this team, will make this team, and is glad to be back in Southern California.”

The Rams like him so much, they plan to move him to left guard, challenging Tom Newberry.

“Why am I like I am?” Schultz said. “I’ve got a great chance here. I could not go out tomorrow and get a job paying me the money I make. A lot of people in this game don’t seem to understand that.

“We’re all friends now . . . on the field we’re not friends. I got cut, and for the first month I didn’t leave my house. You’re nothing suddenly . . . you’re not anything special. I thought it was all over for me.”

It’s not over yet. Schultz is back on the job--and a good training camp away from regaining full-time employment.

“You lose a job and it makes you see the light,” Schultz said. “I’m going to bust my . . . “