Cedar Rapids native Quinn Schulte latest Iowa walk-on DB to defy odds
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Quinn Schulte story has been told over and over, but this kind of story never gets old because it’s about defying the odds.
The names change, but the plot pretty much stays the same, and Hawkeye football fans are certainly familiar with the feel-good plot.
It goes something like this: An unheralded recruit joins the Iowa football team as a walk-on and then defies the odds by making a significant contribution as a safety.
From Derek Pagel to Sean Considine to Brett Greenwood to Jake Gervase to Jack Koerner, the list of walk-ons who have started at safety for Iowa under Kirk Ferentz is impressive.
And now here comes Schulte, a junior from Cedar Rapids.
He was listed as the starter at free safety throughout spring practice and was among several Iowa players that met with the media this past Thursday.
“Coach Ferentz talks about he doesn’t really like the depth charts a lot,” Schulte said. “It’s a grain of salt definitely that you look at it,”
Kirk Ferentz would love that answer as would Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker, who also coaches the defensive backs, and who has a knack for turning unheralded recruits into star defensive backs.
But just to make it to the top of Iowa’s depth chart is a worthy accomplishment, and something most never would come close to achieving.
Schulte, who saw action in 11 games last season, is the latest Hawkeye to show that it doesn’t matter how you reach this level. All that matters, whether you’re on scholarship or a walk-on, is how you perform once you get here.
Iowa has a long and distinguished tradition of using walk-ons to win football games dating back to Kirk Ferentz’s predecessor and former boss, Hayden Fry.
“During the recruiting process I knew that Iowa was significant and had the impact with their walk-ons,” Schulte said. “So, I knew that it would be a good possibility to come here at Iowa. They give everyone a chance, which is nice.
“And so that’s just kind of what everyone I think here thinks when they go the walk-on route.”
Schulte was born in 2000, so he obviously doesn’t remember watching Derek Pagel play safety for Iowa’s 2002 Big Ten chanpion team.
But Schulte knows all about Pagel’s legacy, and about the other walk-on defensive backs who helped pave the way for him to succeed,
“All those guys just the knowledge they have for the game is just incredible,” said Schulte, who had one of Iowa’s Big Ten-leading 25 interceptions last season.
Schulte said he only had one scholarship offer coming out of Cedar Rapids Xavier High School where he played football for his father, Duane Schulte, and where he won a state title as a junior and senior.
The offer come from South Dakota State during his junior year.
“I think that’s just the game of recruiting these days, but I’m here now,” said the 6-foot-1, 201-pound Schulte. “And I’ll can do now is try to maximize my opportunities that I have in front of me.”
Schulte mostly went unnoticed as a recruit despite twice making first-team all-state as a defensive back, and despite having 5,773 total yards while playing quarterback and receiver.
But that just made it easier for Iowa to zero in on him as a potential walk-on recruit.
His older brother, Bryce Schulte, was a walk-on tight end for Iowa and part of last year’s senior class.
Quinn Schulte talked a lot to his older brother about being a walk-on at Iowa, and what he heard made Quinn want to pursue that route even more.
It took courage, determination and confidence for Quinn Schulte to reach this point. And that’s just the mental side of the challenge.
“Just talking to my brother who was here, and to former walk-ons, they’re just as honest as you can be for coaches,” Quinn Schulte said. “They give everyone a fair chance. And, as long as you can go out there and try to perform, that’s what they’re going to do.”
Quinn Schulte still has to win the starting job, because as he pointed out, the depth chart is fluid, especially this time of year.
Senior Kaevon Merriweather is expected to start at strong safety, while incoming freshman Xavier Nwankpa, a five-star recruit from Southeast Polk High School, will also be in the mix for playing time at perhaps either safety position, or at the cash position.
But if what Kirk Ferentz said about Schulte during spring practice is an indication, supplanting Schulte as a starter might not be easy.
“He just plays steady,” Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s where he should be, makes the plays he should make.”
In other words, Kirk Ferentz trusts Quinn Schulte.
And if Kirk Ferentz trusts him, then Phil Parker does, too.
“I think that’s a big part of being a (defensive back) and what coach Parker wants,” Schulte said. “He just wants someone back there that he can trust. So, I think every day we’re just trying to prove we can gain his trust and go out and perform.”
It’s reasonable to assume that Quinn Schulte, as the son of a high school football coach, appreciates all the little things that go into being successful as a player. He grew up around the game and learned from his father what it takes to succeed.
However, hard work, as important as it is at any level, only goes so far.
Quinn Schulte wouldn’t be in this position without having talent.
He also excelled in baseball and track and field in high school, and some of the skills that made him successul in those sports are helping him now at Iowa.
“There’s a lot of reasons to come to Iowa,” Schulte said. “Obviously, being close to home and playing at the highest level. It’s obviously an opportunity that not a lot of people get.
“So, it something we look forward to and it’s probably why a lot of kids come here.”
It’s easy to get carried away with the walk-on narrative to where you forget or overlook the fact that even the walk-ons at Iowa were standouts in high school or they wouldn’t have been invited to walk-on.
In the classroom, Schulte really stands out as a pre-medicine major who has earned Dean’s List recognition throughout his time at Iowa.
“I think right now I’m still trying to learn and still trying to get better,” Schulte said. “So, obviously there’s I think more growth and more that I can work on. So, I’m probably not where I need to be right now.”
Kirk Ferentz and Phil Parker both would love that answer, too.
Quinn Schulte has come a long way, but now the challenge is to hold on to what he has as a starter.