With the Iowa Hawkeyes losing Dane Belton and Jack Koerner to the NFL this past offseason, there was a question mark of who is going to step in at safety on defense. It wasn’t so much a worrisome question as defensive coordinator Phil Parker always has his guys ready to go, but more of a question as to simply who it may be manning the position.
That question was answered rather quickly and in quite a resounding way on Saturday. Quinn Schulte started as safety for the Hawkeyes and he wasted no time at all making his presence felt.
Schulte led the Hawkeyes with four pass breakups on Saturday. That total matched the rest of the defense combined.
Great first career start for @CRXavierFB alum Quinn Schulte (@quinnschulte5)
The former Saint led all #Hawkeyes with four pass breakups from the safety spot pic.twitter.com/zkDCMXD253
— Jett Beachum (@JetthroTV) September 4, 2022
“I think just once you get that first play, first hit out of the game, you know, all the butterflies go away. Coach always talks about, ‘If you don’t have any butterflies, then it’s probably not a good thing that you don’t care.’ Once you get out there and you start playing, they definitely go away,” Schulte said of his first-game nerves.
The pass breakups flashed a physical brand of football, too.
“Yeah, I mean, we’re always trying to bring a physical brand defensively. You know, just trying to be tough, smart, physical. That’s kind of our saying,” Schulte said.
The performance wasn’t lost on fellow defensive back Terry Roberts.
“Quinn has made significant progress. He’s made a lot of plays even throughout practice, throughout spring ball, summer, camp, all that. He’s stepped up to the plate. I love it and the sky’s the limit for him,” Roberts said.
When asked about the Schulte’s performance postgame, head coach Kirk Ferentz was pleased with his performance and spoke a bit on what he saw.
“Quinn is just steady, kind of quietly steady. Not a flashy player but two really good plays right out there in the open. He has practiced well. He’s played well on special teams, and now he took the next step,” said Ferentz.
A position that was a bit of a mystery before the season got underway has suddenly morphed into a potential strength on the back end for the Hawkeyes’ secondary and defense. As the season continues, Schulte will likely be around the ball quite a bit as we already saw his innate playmaking nature in his first start.
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