Karter Schult: Achieving A Well-Rounded Life

By Kaila Pacheco
Athletic Communications Student Intern

The dean of referees, Jim Tunney once said "leadership is more about responsibility than ability."

That statement rings true with the many student-athletes that have come through UNI's doors, but it rings louder for those who have had the honor of learning under assistant coach Bryce Paup.

Paup is in his fourth year of being the defensive line coach for the Panthers, as well as being in charge of player development.

Since his arrival, UNI has finished the year being ranked nationally in the top-40 in total defense, sacks, rushing defense, and tackles for loss. Besides bringing amazing feats to the football team, Paup also strives to have his players perform to their greatest extent off the field.

"They're here for school first because football is only a short part of their life," Paul said. "Eventually everybody is done with football no matter how far they take football, eventually you walk through that door for the last time."

One player who's been under Paup's advising is Senior Karter Schult.

Schult has had multiple recognitions come his way, especially in the 2015 season. A nod for the All-Conference team, STATS All-America second team, and the Academic All-America honors are a few listed on Schult's extensive résumé. Schult couldn't be happier to be a part of the UNI family.

Schult has started 2016 with a nationally dominating performance. He ranks first in the FCS in tackles for loss and sacks and quickly became the all-time leader in career tackles for loss at UNI. He has 12 TFL through the first three games, the best any defensive lineman has achieved this early in the season.
The stats are important to Schult, but the experience is something he won't forget.

"UNI has always been a dream school for me and now that I been here for so long, it has instilled certain values in me that will help me with the rest of my life. Values like: work ethic, respect and integrity," Schult said.

Those values have helped Schult become a leader on the team, on campus, and in the community. His hard work and leadership has been noticed by many around the Cedar Valley and Paup is one of those people.

"Leadership is basically influence, and his influence, just by not even really saying anything, he's influenced the whole team by his work ethic," Paup said.

"He comes to work everyday, carrying his lunch pail and just works. It doesn't matter if he gets knocked down, if it's in the weight room or whatever it is, he's just busting his butt all the time."

Schult's work ethic has led him to major in exercise science and minor in family studies but his dream is to continue playing football after graduation. He has given praises before to his parents for helping him excel in life, academia, and instill his highly noticeable work ethic.

All of these qualities have influenced many people around Schult, especially his teammates.

"As you produce, you get more influence and as he's produced more, he's influenced more people on the team and that's the way it works. He's done a great job at being steady, being the hard worker and that in turn parlays into more influence," said Paup.

Schult has a bright future ahead of him thanks to the likes of his parents and Paup. His influence, work ethic, leadership, and multiple awards and recognitions on and off the field will be remembered by many in the UNI community.

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