Jack Koerner showing early signs of being Iowa’s next walk-on success story at safety
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Jack Koerner could have played college football on scholarship, and probably will be sooner than later.
He had some FCS offers, but the former West Des Moines Dowling standout also had a burning desire to pursue the game that he loves at the highest level in college, and he believed that the ideal place for him to chase that dream was at the University of Iowa.
So Koerner discussed it with his parents and they all agreed that trying to become the next great walk-on safety at Iowa was a worthy cause.
Koerner wanted to at least give it a try because he believed in his ability, but also because he didn’t want to look back some day and have regrets for not challenging himself at the highest level.
“I sat down for countless hours with my parents and reflected on it and it just came down to I wanted to take my shot,” Koerner said. “I was confident in my ability and I didn’t want to just look back and regret not taking my shot.
“If I came here and didn’t play, at least, I would know that I gave it my best shot.”
And though stardom still is a long way from being achieved, Koerner’s best shot has produced impressive results as he is on the verge of starting his fifth consecutive game at free safety against No. 10 Penn State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
“It’s everybody’s dream regardless of anything,” said the 6-foot, 204-pound Koerner. “It’s a great opportunity for all of us and I’m excited as anybody. And we’re just pumped to go out there, and hopefully, do our thing.”
Koerner’s opportunity came when fellow sophomore Kaevon Merriweather was injured in practice after having started at free safety in the season opener against Miami of Ohio. Merriweather was injured on the Friday before the Rutgers game and then missed three consecutive games.
Koerner seized the opportunity as the next man in by performing well enough to have remained as the starter, even after Merriweather had returned for the Michigan game last Saturday.
Their roles are now reversed, but Koerner’s mindset still is the same as it was entering the season.
“It goes both ways, like all through camp, we’d know that the competition makes us both better and we both know that either one of us could go out there and do a good job,” Koerner said. “So pushing each other in practice and everything makes us both better.”
Koerner is now part of a distinguished list of walk-ons who have thrived at the safety positions during the Kirk Ferentz coaching era, which dates back to 1999. There was Derek Pagel, who played from 1999-02, Sean Considine, who played from 2001-04 and Brent Greenwood, who played from 2007-10, to name three.
“There’s the guys that kind of paved the way and I’ve been able to learn from them and learn how they did it and how they were able to succeed, and that’s definitely helped me a lot,” Koerner said. “Those guys are definitely role models for me.”
Sacrifices, obviously, have to be made as a walk-on, but the culture at Iowa is very accepting of non-scholarship players to where it’s hard to tell the difference between a player on scholarship and a walk-on.
“That’s exactly how it is,” Koerner said. “You really can’t tell unless you go through some deep investigating on the recruiting and stuff. You really can’t tell. Everybody gets treated the same. Everybody has got the same opportunity, and unless you’re purposely trying to make it known that you are or aren’t, there’s really no way to tell.”
Koerner will almost certainly be put on scholarship sooner than later, given his climb up the depth chart, but there is extra motivation from being a walk-on. It pushes Koerner every day to give maximum effort because two-thirds of his teammates have something that he doesn’t have.
Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker and strength coach Chris Doyle always remind the players, both on scholarship and the walk-ons, that you have to prove yourself every day.
Parker also coaches the defensive backs and was a former All-Big Ten safety at Michigan State in the 1980s.
Ten different defensive backs have made first team all-Big Ten under Parker, including Bob Sanders, who was recognized three years in a row from 2001-03.
“That’s kind of something coach Parker and coach Doyle they harp on is a walk-on mentality is not just for walk-ons, it’s for everybody,” Koerner said. “You’re always trying to prove yourself. There’s always someone better. You’ve always got to keep working because there’s always somebody better out there and you should never be satisfied.”
Koerner as a graduate of Dowling was used to winning when he arrived at Iowa in 2017. The Maroons have won six consecutive Class 4A state titles and Koerner played a key role as a junior and senior in 2015 and 2016.
He also made first-team all-state as a senior.
Northern Iowa, South Dakota and South Dakota State all offered Koerner a scholarship, and he gave each school some consideration.
But his thoughts always shifted back to the opportunity that had been presented to him by Iowa.
There was no scholarship offer, but there was a chance to be a walk-on at Iowa, and with that came a lot of potential glory and sacrifice.
Koerner redshirted as a true freshman in 2017 and then appeared in 12 games last season, playing mostly on special teams.
“I think I kind of knew I’d redshirt my first year and then last year I made it my goal that I wanted to get on some special teams and then this year I set my goal, I wanted to be on the special teams and at least in the two-deeps and at least challenging for a starting sporty,” Koerner said. “I just wanted to keep progressing every year.
“So I guess that kind of was the plan, so it’s kind of working out.”
Kirk Ferentz credits former Iowa assistant coach Reese Morgan for first identifying Koerner’s potential and then for helping to convince Koerner to come to Iowa as a walk-on.
Morgan, who retired after last season, had a knack for finding hidden gems and seeing talent and potential where other coaches didn’t see it.
So Morgan paved the way for Koerner to be a Hawkeye and then Koerner has taken it from there.
“He's worked extremely hard,” Ferentz said of Koerner. “I thought last spring he really started to play with some confidence back there and looked like a guy that was capable of maybe going out there and helping us as a football team.
“He's done a good job on special teams, but as a safety and then certainly this camp, he's done a really nice job. So when the door opened, he was ready to go. It's a credit to him.”
Koerner has the luxury of playing alongside junior strong safety Geno Stone, who is showing star potential.
Stone’s influence goes way beyond his performance on the field, though.
‘Geno’s incredible,” Koerner said. “It’s really helpful when you’re out there. You can just completely trust the guy next to you and also if you make a bad call or something, that he’s good enough to be able check backside and help you out and make sure you’re making the right calls and everything. It just helps me to play a lot faster and I’m a lot more confident having him on the other side.”
As far as Koerner’s status as a walk-on, look for that to change, perhaps as soon as next semester, depending on what happens with the roster.
He was asked on Tuesday what’s next on his list of goals.
“The plan is just to keep playing good football and keep making everyone around me better,” Koerner said.