Brian Folkerts (born January 30, 1990) is an American former professional football center and current college football coach. He is the tight ends coach and tackles coach for Northern Iowa, a position he has held since 2024. He played college football at Washburn.
 Folkerts with the St. Louis Rams in 2015 | |||||||||||
| Northern Iowa Panthers | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Tight ends coach & tackles coach | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | January 30, 1990 Florissant, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 305 lb (138 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Hazelwood (MO) Central | ||||||||||
| College: | Washburn | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Career Arena League statistics | |||||||||||
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Early life
editBrian was born the son of Tim and Margie Folkerts. He attended Hazelwood Central High School in Florissant, Missouri. There he was a two-sport athlete, playing both football and wrestling.
College career
editFolkerts attended Washburn University, where he played for the Washburn Ichabods football team from 2008 to 2011. Folkerts earned honorable mention All-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) as a freshman in 2008.[2] As a sophomore in 2009, Folkerts was the Ichabods starting right tackle, earned second-team All-MIAA honors.[2] During Folkerts junior season, he moved to left tackle, where he was named a first-team All-MIAA selection.[2] His senior year, Folkerts was once again named a first-team All-MIAA selection,[3] Folkerts also earned www.d2football.com's 2nd Team All-American honors in 2011.[4]
Professional career
editPre-draft
editPrior to the 2012 NFL draft, Folkerts was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the fifty-first-best offensive guard in the draft.[5] Folkerts was not invited to the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Folkerts attended the Kansas State Pro Day workout on March 27.[5]
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
303 lb (137 kg) |
5.18 s | 1.79 s | 2.94 s | 4.66 s | 7.73 s | 31.5 in (0.80 m) |
9 ft 2 in (2.79 m) |
35 reps | |||
| All values from Kansas State's Pro Day on March 27[5] | ||||||||||||
New Orleans Saints
editAfter going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, Folkerts signed as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).[6] Folkerts was cut by the Saints on August 27.[7]
San Jose SaberCats
editFolkerts was signed by the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League for the 2013 season. Folkerts played fullback for the SaberCats. He was placed on Other League Exempt status by the SaberCats on May 16, when he signed with the NFL's Carolina Panthers.[8]
Carolina Panthers (first stint)
editFolkerts survived the Panthers final cuts, and was placed on the active roster for Week 1 as a center. After the Panthers started the season 0–2, Folkerts was waived. He was re-signed to Panthers' practice squad on September 21, 2013. On September 5, 2015, he was released by the Panthers with an injury settlement.[9]
San Francisco 49ers
editOn October 13, 2015, Folkerts was signed by the 49ers' practice squad.
St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams
editOn November 17, 2015, Folkerts was signed by the St. Louis Rams from the 49ers' practice squad.[10] On August 30, 2016, he was released by the Rams.[11]
Carolina Panthers (second stint)
editOn August 12, 2017, Folkerts re-signed with the Panthers.[12] He was waived on September 1, 2017.[13]
San Antonio Commanders
editOn December 27, 2018, Folkerts signed with the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league ceased operations in April 2019.[14]
St. Louis BattleHawks
editIn October 2019, Folkerts was selected in the second round of the 2020 XFL Draft by the St. Louis BattleHawks.[15] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[16]
Arlington Renegades
editOn November 17, 2022, Folkerts was drafted by the Arlington Renegades of the XFL.[17] He was not part of the roster after the 2024 UFL dispersal draft on January 15, 2024.[18]
Coaching career
editFolkerts coached two years at Washburn,[19] two years at Wingate,[20][21] and in 2024 was named the tight ends coach and tackles coach for Northern Iowa.[22]
References
edit- ^ "Transactions". NFL.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ a b c Ken Corbitt (September 7, 2011). "Folkerts the protector on WU's line". www.cjonline.com. The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ "MIAA Announces 2011 All-Conference Football Team (FHSU's Whitehill, Kosjer 1st Team)". www.hayspost.com. Hays Post. November 15, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ "Four Ichabods Named d2football.com All-Americans". www.wibw.com. Gray Television, Inc. January 19, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Brian Folkerts, DS #51 OG, Washburn". www.NFLDraftScout.com. The Sports Xchange. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ Ken Corbitt (May 1, 2012). "WU's Folkerts marches into NFL with Saints". www.cjonline.com. The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ "WU product Folkerts cut by Saints". www.cjonline.com. The Topeka Capital-Journal. August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ "SaberCats FB Brian Folkerts Joins Carolina Panthers". www.thesanjosesabercats.com. San Jose SaberCats. May 17, 2013. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ Henson, Max (September 5, 2015). "Panthers trim roster to 53". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- ^ Lyons, Joe (November 17, 2015). "Rams report: Team makes multiple moves to fill out roster". STLToday.com. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
- ^ Bain, Nate (August 30, 2016). "Rams Announce First Round of Roster Cuts". TheRams.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017.
- ^ "Panthers sign Brian Folkerts, waive Tyrus Thompson". Panthers.com. August 12, 2017. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ Strickland, Bryan (September 1, 2017). "Panthers reduce roster to 77". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017.
- ^ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "Rosters for all eight XFL teams: Full draft results and where Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant landed". ESPN.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ "2024 UFL Team Rosters". TheUFL.com. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ "Brian Folkerts - Assistant Coach / Offensive line - Football Coaches". Washburn University Athletics. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Brian Folkerts - Offensive Line Coach - Staff Directory". Wingate University Athletics. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Wingate adds Brian Folkerts and Shaedon Meadors to coaching staff". Wingate University Athletics. April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
- ^ "Brian Folkerts - Tight Ends | Tackles - Football Coaches". UNI Athletics. Retrieved April 5, 2024.