Former Beaver now a Barnstormer

A former wide receiver for the BVU football team has seen his athletic career elevate to a new level. Laurens, Iowa native and 2006 graduate Jesse Schmidt recently signed a contract with the Iowa Barnstormers. The Barnstormers are a member of the Arena Football League and are based in Des Moines. Schmidt joins the Barnstormers after playing for the AF2 League’s Quad City Steemwheelers.

His career has taken him around the country since he finished playing for the Beavers. In December of 2005, he competed in the Aztec Bowl, division three’s version of an all-star game. Steve Ostenberger, who was then head coach of the BVU football team, told Schmidt he should go participate in a regional combine. Schmidt took his advice and after lots of hard work with assistant BVU football coach Jered Kruse, came out as the number one rated prospect at the combine. Opportunities began to come up for Schmidt after that point. Current BVU head football coach Jay Anderson was the offensive coordinator for the Beavers when Schmidt was at BVU. Anderson remembers Schmidt’s physical abilities from his time with the Beavers.

“We don’t see that many student-athletes with his combination of size, speed and strength,” Anderson said. “He loved to play the game. He worked hard in practice to get better each week.”

Schmidt was brought into the Green Bay Packer’s facility for a workout. He also tried out for an AFL team in Dallas. Unfortunately for Schmidt, the situation did not work out with either team. Schmidt then chose to continue his career with the Steemwheelers, but bad luck seemed to surface again as he tore his ACL in the third game of his first season.
“It was a life changing event for me, just as far as being on the biggest stage of my life and understanding that things can get taken away from you in the blink of an eye,” Schmidt said.

The bad luck didn’t last forever though, as Schmidt recovered from his injury and then went on to big seasons in 2008 and 2009 with the Steemwheelers. In 2009, Schmidt caught a whopping 311 passes for 4,000 yards and 108 touchdowns for the Steemwheelers. In both 2008 and 2009, he was selected to the AF2 all-first team and won the league’s “Big Game” Player of the Year Award in 2009. Schmidt’s contract with the Barnstormers is not completely surprising.

“I had contracts actually last year to move up to arena one [AFL]. I actually had two contracts in hand to move up to either L.A. or to Grand Rapids, Mich., but the league took a year suspension,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt is, needless to say, excited about the opportunity to play AFL ball in 2010.

“It’s a great opportunity for me, moving back to Iowa, getting to be two and a half [to] three hours from home. I think the family and friends are more excited than I am, to tell you the truth,” Schmidt said. “It’s going to be a lot of talent. It’s the next level up. It’s exactly where I want to be, one step closer to the NFL. It’s kind of the goal to get one more shot at it [the NFL].”

When asked about the keys to his success, Schmidt simply said he is never completely satisfied with what he accomplishes.

“I think just never really being satisfied and just being a student of the game,” Schmidt said. “There’s always something you can learn about the game. There’s always something else that you can do better. I’ve been really extremely blessed to have great people around me, great support this whole way. That’s obviously a huge part, to be blessed with people in my life that have helped me with things and pushed me and led me in the right direction and God’s gift to allow me to do that, too.”

Anderson says Schmidt doesn’t wait for the ball to get to him.
“He can go get the ball,” Anderson said. “If it hits his hands he will make the catch. After the catch, he can take it the distance.”
Schmidt reports to training camp with the Barnstormers in March of next year.

“He is one of those people you just enjoy being around,” Anderson said. “He always has a smile on his face and is pretty humble for the success he has experienced.”