Pella DE goes with home state Hawkeyes

Iowa invited Pella's Austin Schulte to a one-day camp in early June. Iowa defensive line coach Reese Morgan told Schulte that coaches wanted to get a look at him as a defensive end.

Schulte, one of five prospects to commit to the Hawkeyes this weekend, had 71 tackles and 19 tackles for loss while helping Pella to a Class 3A state title last season. He did that from the middle linebacker position. So, fast forward to earlier this month and giving defensive end a try.

In camp situations, when coaches ask you to try something, hey, why not?

Schulte, 6-4, 240, jumped right in.

'Coach Morgan brought me in as a defensive end,” Schulte told HawkeyeReport.com. 'I've played middle linebacker all through high school, so he just wanted to see me at that position. He said I did pretty well and after the camp he asked me to come over to the football office. There, me, my dad, and my younger brother met with coach (Kirk) Ferentz and he offered me a scholarship.”

That was an eye-opener for Schulte, who had offers from the best of the best in FCS schools (Northern Iowa, North Dakota State, South Dakota, and South Dakota State).

'I was kind of in shock at first,” Schulte said. 'I didn't know what to say or what to think, but I'm just so excited and so blessed.”

At defensive end during that camp, Schulte listened to Morgan and concentrated on technique.

'He (Morgan) said that I have a good frame, good athleticism, and I really learn well,” Schulte said. 'I haven't played that position, but I adapted and learned the different techniques and everything as the day went on.”

Schulte follows former Pella teammate Garret Jansen to Iowa City. Jansen will be a true freshman defensive tackle at Iowa this fall.

'When I think of Iowa, I think of all the offensive and defensive linemen that they've sent to the NFL and just how successful they are at those positions,” Schulte said. 'Also, we have a kid from our school, Garret Jansen, that's going to play defensive line there too and I'm good friends with him, so it would be cool to play with a teammate from high school in college.”

Pella coach Jay McKinstrey told HawkeyeReport.com that Schulte suffered a broken fibula last year and played 'three or four games” before having it repaired.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com