Iowa safety Quinn Schulte proves ‘you get what you earn’ in journey from walk-on to ‘coach on the field’

IOWA CITY — Quinn Schulte put up a poster above the door to his Cedar Rapids bedroom when he was in elementary school.

It was “when Quinn was in third or fourth grade,” his father Duane Schulte said. “Maybe even younger than that — second or first grade.”

Quinn’s poster said, “You get what you earn.”

It is the same motivational saying that is painted in the Cedar Rapids Xavier locker room — where Duane Schulte has been the head football coach for longer than Quinn has been alive.

“He’s been kind of brainwashed into that kind of stuff ever since he’s been little,” Duane said.

More than a decade after young Quinn made his own “you get what you earn” poster, his Iowa football career has epitomized those five words as he has blossomed from walk-on to multi-year starter at free safety.

“His work ethic is — I'm not in the room all the time — but you just hear his teammates talk about him, studying film, all the things he does,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It's pretty impressive, and that's the reason why he plays so well.”

Schulte, linebacker Jay Higgins said, is asked “to do a lot” for the Iowa defense.

“Because he’s able to think about the play before it happens, he’s able to recognize formations, that’s why I feel like this defense is successful,” Higgins said. “He’s able to handle all that.”

Linebacker Nick Jackson similarly described Schulte as “one of the smartest people” and a “coach on the field.”

“When you have Quinn Schulte on the field, you know he can get you in and out of anything, and he’s going to put you in the right spot,” Jackson said.

Schulte is practically an extra coach off the field, too.

“He’s going to watch as much film as possible,” Jackson said. “He’s going to send you clips all throughout the week. He’s going to know the play better than you know the play.”

Fellow defensive back Sebastian Castro remembers a defensive check Schulte made that "wasn’t really a part of the game plan.“

“He made a check that (defensive coordinator Phil) Parker never talked about, but it just made sense to make the check,” Castro said. “Once he made it, everyone knew what to do.”

Schulte’s high football IQ can result in some humorous moments in practice.

“He’ll kind of joke around with me in the back in practice and give me calls,” defensive end Joe Evans said. “I’m like, ‘Dude, how did you even know that?’”

Growth on and off the field

Duane Schulte has seen Quinn grow over the five years at Iowa — physically, mentally and spiritually.

“He’s certainly gotten bigger, faster, stronger physically,” Duane said. “He’s really done well in terms of academics and football. ... He’s been really proud of the fact that he’s been academic all-Big Ten (three) times.”

Spiritually, Quinn “doesn’t miss mass each weekend” and sometimes even goes back to St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids to attend mass with his family.

Schulte arrived at Iowa in 2019 and saw his first game action in 2020. He played sparingly in 2020 and 2021 although Ferentz knew it was “a matter of time before he was going to start.”

“I could tell (Parker) liked him right from the start,” Ferentz said. “He's a serious, hardworking, focused guy. He wasn't good enough to play at that point, but he had all the right attributes.”

Then the door opened for Schulte to take the starting free safety spot in 2022 after Jack Koerner’s graduation. He never relinquished the role, starting in 23 consecutive games. The only Hawkeyes with longer starting streaks are offensive lineman Mason Richman and defensive lineman Logan Lee.

Quinn Schulte’s adjustment to Iowa — and more specifically, his adjustment to learning from a challenging coach such as Parker -- was perhaps a little easier because of his work with Xavier defensive coordinator Jim O’Connell.

“Jim reminds a lot of us of coach Parker,” Duane Schulte said. “He’s pretty blunt, and he has high expectations, and he’s going to ride you hard. ... Don’t get me wrong. It’s a transition for anybody to play under coach Parker, but him having to live up to the expectations of Jim O’Connell certainly helepd him as he went down there.”

Quinn Schulte carried many of the things he learned from Xavier with him to Iowa, including his father’s emphasis on the value of overcommunicating rather than undercommunicating.

“I think I stole that from the Iowa coaches to be honest with you,” Duane Schulte said. “So it’s come full-circle.”

A coach’s son

Ferentz “can go right down the list” of accomplished players in his program whose fathers were accomplished high school coaches, including most notably former quarterback Drew Tate.

“Part of the advantage of a coach's kid — they see the hard stuff, not just the good stuff or the easy stuff,” Ferentz said. “They're not just fans. They don't show up at the stadium, ‘Oh, this is nice.’ ... They see the tough parts of competition and the disappointment and all those things that come with it.”

Quinn Schulte has the benefit of being not just the son of a high school coach, but the son of a Hall of Fame coach.

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“Duane is an outstanding coach, not a good coach,” said Ferentz, who has more players on his current roster from Xavier than any other high school. “Outstanding teacher.”

The respect between Ferentz and Duane Schulte certainly is mutual.

“He’s the gold standard as far as I’m concerned in terms of how to conduct yourself as a coach,” Duane Schulte said.

Another successful walk-on story at Iowa

Quinn Schulte follows a long line of Iowa-born walk-ons who have become successful starting free safeties, including Des Moines native Koerner and Davenport native Jake Gervase.

“What I tease Phil Parker about, you can't play free safety at Iowa unless you're a walk-on,” Ferentz said. “That's just how it is, and Quinn is in that boat.”

Schulte joined the boat of Iowa players with interceptions so far this season when he picked off Rutgers’ Gavin Wimsatt in the fourth quarter and returned it to the Rutgers 9-yard line.

Evans was “a little disappointed in myself” because he did not do more to help Schulte get to the end zone.

“I saw him cut back, and then I turned this way to try to take some defenders,” Evans said as he physically demonstrated the move in front of a gaggle of reporters. “Not realizing there were some guys sprinting behind him, so I’ve got to apologize for that one.”

Jackson similarly “tried to block my butt off,” but not very successfully.

“I ran as fast as I could and didn’t hit anybody,” Jackson said.

Even without a touchdown, it was a joyous moment for the Cedar Rapids native and maybe even more joyous for his teammates. Jackson considers Quinn to be “one of my best friends.”

Fellow defensive back Cooper DeJean, soft-spoken and usually not a demonstrative celebrator, practically mauled Schulte in the celebration. The play made Higgins and Evans “so happy.”

“You won't miss a Cooper DeJean story, but it's those fifth-year guys that the media kind of forgets about,” Higgins told reporters after the game. “He shows up to work every day, does his job. Guys like that — that's who I appreciate.”

Higgins told Schulte he “should have celebrated a little longer.”

“Maybe I should’ve,” Schulte said. “I knew we had more time left and we had to get back out there for another series.”

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Duane Schulte said the celebration Quinn did have is probably “about as celebratory as I’ve ever seen” from him.

In the west bleachers of Kinnick Stadium, Duane Schulte was stoically in “football coach mode” as he stepped up on the bleacher seat in front of him to get a better view.

“Everybody else around us was jumping up and down and going crazy,” Duane Schulte said. “I wanted to see the entire play and how it finished, and then I wanted to see his and his teammates’ reaction.”

Making memories as a family

Schulte’s family has not had far to go to see Quinn play at Kinnick Stadium. It has gone to great lengths, though, to see Quinn play on the road as well.

Take the Penn State weekend for example. Duane Schulte coached Cedar Rapids Xavier to a 42-0 road win at Clinton on that Friday evening before hitting the road with his family to State College, Pa. More than 700 miles later, the Schulte family made it to Beaver Stadium early enough to see the team’s arrival.

“It means the world to me,” Quinn said. “It’s a moment that we’re just cherishing right now because you’re not going to get this back a couple years from now or down the road.”

Unless Quinn Schulte uses his extra COVID-19 year of eligibility, 2023 will mark the last of a seven-year period where at least one Schulte was on the Iowa football roster. Before Quinn, Bryce was a Hawkeye from 2017-21.

“There will be a void,” Duane Schulte said. “It’s certainly something we’re going to miss.”

But first, the Schulte family — brothers Bryce and Reggie, sister Hope, Duane and mother Sherry — will have another opportunity to see Quinn play at Kinnick on Senior Day.

Schulte does not know if he is “looking forward to” Senior Day and the emotions that inevitably come with it.

“Seeing my parents out there greeting me at midfield is something that I will definitely probably get emotional about,” Schulte said. “I know all the work that they’ve done for me, and I really appreciate them and the spot that they put me in.”

Ironically, Quinn’s Senior Day game will be against the same opponent as during Bryce’s Senior Day — Illinois.

“That was kind of a whirlwind emotionally for me, too,” Quinn said.

A consolation during Saturday’s emotional whirlwind will be that what Quinn Schulte got during his time with Iowa football — or more so earned — is something that will be permanent.

“When you graduate, you don’t really leave the swarm,” Schulte said. “You can be wherever in life, and if you see another Hawkeye out and about, you know that they have your back.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com