alogue@dmreg.com
CEDAR FALLS, Ia. – They never saw Karter Schult coming.
As a defensive end for Northern Iowa making a bee-line to the quarterback, that’s good. But as an unheralded recruit from Tripoli, Iowa, population 1,313, it was frustrating.
“What sets him apart is he knew that he could go play somewhere big,” said Tom Nuss, the football coach at Tripoli High School, located about 30 minutes north of UNI. “I think that kind of added fuel to the fire when nobody else even acted interested.
“It made him want to go prove something.”
The Panthers were the only NCAA Division I program to offer Schult a scholarship, and he returned the favor by developing into a 6-foot-4, 269-pound wrecking ball, on pace to obliterate his own school record when it comes to tackles for loss in a season.
He’s recorded 12 TFLs through three games this season (including 6 ½ sacks), after setting a Northern Iowa mark of 23 last fall. His numbers this season lead all of Division I -- both the FCS and FBS teams.
“It is such an adrenaline rush,” said Schult, whose 15 sacks in 2015 were seventh-most in FCS, “because once you take the quarterback to the ground, I can’t explain it… It’s elation.”
Schult’s passion and power were the primary reasons the Panthers brought him into the program. Under the tutelage of defensive line coach Bryce Paup (who played in the NFL for more than a decade), Schult emerged as potential pro prospect.
“He’s in the same type of mindset and talent set as the guys (from UNI) who are playing today on Sunday afternoon,” Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley said. “He practices as hard as he plays and trains as hard as he plays.
“Those are the ones who make it when they get their opportunity in the NFL.”
There are some in Schult’s family who feel he was born to play for pay.
Sacks for cash
When Karter began playing football as a fifth-grader, his parents Kristie and Kurt came up with a financial incentive.
“Just to motivate Karter,” Kristie said, “because when he was younger he was kind of stubborn and sometimes didn’t always give 100 percent.
“And he loved money.”
The deal paid off, immediately.
“I think it was $5 a sack,” Kristie recalled, “because his dad and I sat in the stands and it was like $50 we were going to owe him at the end of the day.
“We just looked at each other and laughed.”
While playing eight-man football at Tripoli, Schult earned respect with his versatility. He kicked, caught passes as a tight end and even line up behind center in wildcat formations.
“I threw a couple balls,” Schult said. “That didn’t work out very well.”
He spent much of his time at fullback, serving as the lead blocker for Tyler Lenox, an all-state tailback.
“I had to really make myself known,” Schult said. “I don’t think I really had the attention even from UNI until we made it to the playoffs (at the UNI-Dome) and they saw me.
“My recruiting coach at the time told me one of the main reasons they saw me was because I was playing fullback and just mowing linebackers over.”
Schult arrived at Cedar Falls in 2012, but didn’t begin to blossom until Paup joined Farley’s staff in 2013.
“When I first got here, it was like, ‘Oh my goodness,’’’ Paup said of seeing Schult, then a redshirt freshman. “I called him the Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robot, because you pounded him on the head and his arms flew up.
“The exact opposite of what you want.”
Paup's pupil
Paup altered Schult’s focus.
“When I got here as a freshman, I was still stuck in high-school mode, that I could just look at the quarterback and run him down,” Schult said. “Well, there is 300-pound linemen who are saying otherwise.
“Coach Paup was really instrumental in the process of dealing with what’s in front of you. The offensive tackle, you need to make sure that your focus is on him. You’ve got to beat him first, and then you can worry about where the quarterback is at.”
A Northern Iowa product himself credited with 75 NFL sacks, Paup recognized Schult’s unique skill set.
“He’s got a strong left hand,” Paup explained. “That means he can come off the right side, and some of the kids who are right-handed can’t do some of the stuff he can do.”
Schult has made 25 sacks in his college career, but one became more memorable in recent months.
Two years ago, Schult brought down North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, who is now a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“That’s pretty special to me, now,” Schult said. “At the time, I just thought it was a sack.”
What about a reunion, with Schult joining Wentz in the NFL?
“We as a family have talked about it very candidly in the last year or so,” Kristie Schult said, “but Karter is very private about it.”
CBSSports.com lists Schult as a likely free agent candidate heading into next spring’s NFL Draft. NFLDraftScout.com ranks him 54th out of 216 defensive ends nationally.
At least now, it appears the kid from Tripoli is being overlooked, again.
“Whether someone will give him the opportunity or not remains to be seen,” said Paup, the 1995 NFL defensive player of the year, “but I think he definitely deserves an opportunity.
“And he would make the most of it if he got it.”