Quinn Schulte isn’t the loudest guy when he’s not playing football. He keeps to himself when he’s around people he doesn’t know well, speaking only when spoken to, and even then in a softer tone.

But when he’s set back in the Iowa secondary, the free safety is the most vocal leader on the field.

The free safety position is the last line of defense, looming far behind the line of scrimmage and thus allowing for a vision of the entire play. That vision grants the free safety greater control of the defensive scheme that demands a strong sense of leadership and communication.

“When you have a good relationship, especially with the linebackers or the guys up front, it makes communication a lot easier,” Schulte said. “You’re not worrying about who’s doing this or what the call is … It just makes it easier for guys in secondary to do their job.”

Schulte is in his second year starting for the Hawkeyes, spending his three years prior to earning the nod working his way up the ladder in defensive coordinator Phil Parker’s scheme. And his teammates and coaches have had high praise for him as a result.

“It’s not an easy job, that free safety,” Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins said. “We like to say his job is harder than the [middle linebacker’s job].”

Iowa defensive line coach Jay Niemann noted how Schulte does what the team asks of him every day and has been instrumental in the cohesion of the defense at all three levels – from defensive line to linebackers, and to defensive backs. 

“I can just tell you the guys that play his position — they have to have great football IQ, and they have to have some leadership skills: He has both of those,” Niemann said. “It takes somebody with a lot of moxie and a good football IQ to keep everything going and staying in sync on the back end, so he’s done really well for us.”

Schulte’s locker sits next to that of Iowa defensive back Sebastian Castro, who said he recognized how quiet Schulte was when the two first met — yet how smart and outspoken he quickly became when on the field.

“He just knows what’s going on; he knows the defense,” Castro said. “Sometimes he’s making calls out there that weren’t necessarily part of the game plan, so he just has his own way of seeing different plays.”

Iowa linebacker Nick Jackson noted Schulte’s obsession with watching game film, sending his teammates clips throughout the week. Schulte said he watches film from around midday to well into the late afternoon.

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

Jackson called Schulte a “coach on the field,” which isn’t surprising, as the safety has been around the game of football since he was a toddler. His father, Duane, is the head football coach at Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids and often brought Schulte along to practices when he was very little.

“Quinn’s the ultimate competitor,” Duane told The Daily Iowan. “He doesn’t say a whole lot … In the house, he’s a little more vocal than he is out in public, but he just has a deep fire … He’s a competitor and wants to win. That’s the bottom line.”

Schulte’s brothers, Bryce and Reggie, suited up for Duane at Xavier before playing tight end at Iowa and quarterback at Northern Iowa, respectively. Both taught their younger brother the game as he developed behind them.

In fact, Schulte’s brothers and their friends would often bring him into their backyard football games as children, although he served more as their tackling dummy as the youngest in the group.

“I would say I was probably the one getting clocked,” Schulte said. “A lot of those older guys were giving me a rough [go at it].”

Family has been instrumental to Schulte’s success as his younger sister, Hope, and mother, Sherry, have shown immense support and positivity by his side throughout his career.

Schulte grew up to play for the Saints with his father as his head coach, and he put together one of the most impressive football resumes in the state of Iowa as a quarterback, receiver, and defensive back.

As a junior and senior, Schulte earned all-state honors, led the team to consecutive state championship titles, and held the top quarterback rating in the state. 

In those two years, he also finished in the top three for The Des Moines Register’s Player of the Year honor — among the likes of current Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell, Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Max Duggan.

Schulte compiled 428 yards of total offense with four total touchdowns, seven tackles, and an interception on the final play of the state championship game his senior year.

Schulte holds school records for career rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, total offense, and points. 

Despite all of his high school success on offense, Schulte also progressed into a college-caliber player on defense under Xavier defensive coordinator Jim O’Connell. Schulte finished his time with the Saints with 10 interceptions – second-best in program history. 

“[What O’Connell does at Xavier] is somewhat similar [to the Iowa defense] from the standpoint of high expectations and having to be tough and have some grit and determination,” Duane said. “For Quinn to play for Jim O’Connell helped him get ready for [Iowa defensive coordinator Phil] Parker.”

Now-retired Iowa football coach Reese Morgan visited Schulte at Xavier and extended him an offer, so Schulte committed to continuing his football career with Iowa — but not as a scholarship athlete. He was a preferred walk-on as a zero-star recruit according to 247 Sports. 

“I grew up watching the Hawks,” Schulte said, noting his parents both went to law school at the university. “During the recruiting process, I was very open to any school, but [Iowa] ended up being the right fit, especially with my brother here.”

After redshirting his freshman year, Schulte embarked on that climb up the ladder toward significant time on the field — and in a role on a Hawkeye defense that brings in so many talented players competing for spots every year.

 “I just learned to focus on the little things and the details and listen to the older guys and follow their path,” Schulte said, recognizing fellow walk-on Jack Koerner leading the way before him. “Someone has done it before, and they showed the way for me.

 “I knew that if I came here, I’d get an opportunity just like everyone else, and I’d still have to work my butt off just like everyone else,” Schulte added. “You just have to go throughout the same process that anyone else would and hope that things turn out well.”

But he had to impress Parker to get to the top. The defensive coordinator played a joke on a second-year Schulte by frequently pretending to forget his name.

“I know Phil well enough now, and I could tell he liked [Schulte] right from the start,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “[Schulte] is a serious, hardworking, and focused guy.

“He wasn’t good enough to play at that point [early in his career], but he had all the right attributes,” Ferentz added. “It was a matter of time before he was going to start.

Schulte played in three games in 2020, recording three solo tackles. In 2021, he made a big leap, playing 12 games and even recording an interception for 42 yards in a crushing 51-14 win over Maryland.

“Sometimes people get the idea that because you’re a walk-on, you must not have been as good of an athlete as a guy that was offered a scholarship,” Duane said. “I don’t want to say I’m surprised by what he’s doing [now] because, with his mindset and competitive spirit, I thought he could do it. He just had to prove it.”

By the following season, Schulte had established his role in the Iowa defense and defined his value to the team, doing so with an adherence to hard work and personal development before anything else.

He started all 13 games at free safety for the Hawkeyes last season, recording 71 tackles, six pass breakups, and a key interception against Illinois that stopped a potential score at the one-yard line.

“I think the biggest change has been physically — he’s just gotten bigger, faster, and stronger,” Duane said, noting Schulte’s tendency to go home to Cedar Rapids on days off to lift weights and run. “I’ve been the head coach [at Xavier] for 26 years, and no one has been in the weight room more than him. He just wants to get better.”

Now in his second year starting for a top-tier Iowa defense, Schulte is something of a quiet weapon. 

“It’s those fifth-year guys that the media forgets about,” Higgins said. “He shows up to work every day and does his job. Guys like that — that’s who I appreciate.”

Although he won’t always make a dozen tackles every game — despite grabbing eight, including one for a loss of eight yards, against Michigan State and another eight against Purdue — Schulte will always keep his teammates in the right positions to execute and make the right plays.

And he even makes them himself.

With five minutes left in Iowa’s contest with Rutgers at Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 11, the Hawkeyes were up, 15-0, leaving the Scarlet Knights desperate for a score to have even a glance at a win.

Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt dropped back after taking the snap in the shotgun in his own territory and hopped on the balls of his feet, scanning the field for any glimpse of an opening to throw.

He opted to look left and release the ball deep down the field as the Hawkeye defensive line enclosed him. But the ball went well short of the target, who was already covered by the Iowa defensive backs, leaving Schulte wide-eyed with his head up toward the ball coming his way.

Schulte stepped back slightly and pinned the ball against his upper chest as it hit him, securing it with two hands and taking off in a dash to the left before he could even tuck the ball in for a run.

“I was just trying to cover the [receiver] a little bit, and seeing the ball up in the air, [I tried] to go get it,” Schulte explained. “Then the defense set up a little wall, and I tried to cut it back to get into the end zone.”

His blockers in front of him, Schulte kept his eyes glued on the black end zone, cutting across the field before he was ultimately taken down just inside of the five-yard line. 

“It was just a really cool moment,” Schulte said. “Any time someone makes a big play, everyone else is celebrating it. We’re told to celebrate with our teammates, so it was just a cool moment.” Jackson noted how hard he tried to find a block to get Schulte into the end zone — a testament to how valuable Schulte is to this defense.

“Oh my gosh, that was awesome,” Jackson said after the game. “Quinn’s one of my best friends, and I’m really appreciative for everything he’s done, and that was just a heck of a play. You just love when a guy like that makes a play like that.”

While Schulte’s mother was jumping up and down in excitement at the interception, Duane was watching the play through the coach’s lens — one he’s passed on to his son – as he looked to ensure there were no flags to bring the play back before he could celebrate.

Shortly after, the Iowa offense found receiver Kaleb Brown to extend the lead to 22-0, close the door on the Scarlet Knights, and bring the Hawkeyes one win away from clinching a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship. The Hawkeyes achieved the feat the next week in a win over Illinois, where Schulte racked up five tackles.

“He’s been a good player for us, and he’s a strong team leader too and just so respected,” Ferentz said in his press conference following the Rutgers game. “You just hear his teammates talk about him studying film and all the things he does. It’s pretty impressive, and that’s the reason why he plays so well.”

While the Rutgers win was a collective effort, Schulte’s pick ensured it. And although many might find Schulte an underrated factor to that effort, Duane has seen enough of his son’s play to be confident he’s not to be overlooked.

“Other people might think he is [underrated], but he’ll take care of business and surprise you and get the job done — that’s for sure,” Duane said. “I think he’s one of the best in the country.”