Brian Folkerts (born January 30, 1990) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and current

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He is the

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s coach and

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

coach for

Northern Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, a position he has held since 2024. He played

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influe ...

Early life

Brian was born the son of Tim and Margie Folkerts. He has one sister, Julie Folkerts. He attended Hazelwood Central High School in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle-class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population ...

. There he was a two-sport athlete, playing both football and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

College career

Folkerts attended

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

, where he played for the Washburn Ichabods football team from 2008 to 2011. Folkerts earned honorable mention All-

Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its fourteen me ...

(MIAA) as a freshman in 2008. As a sophomore in 2009, Folkerts was the Ichabods starting right tackle, earned second-team All-MIAA honors. During Folkerts junior season, he moved to left tackle, where he was named a first-team All-MIAA selection. His senior year, Folkerts was once again named a first-team All-MIAA selection, Folkerts also earned www.d2football.com's 2nd Team All-American honors in 2011.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

, Folkerts was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the fifty-first-best offensive guard in the draft. Folkerts was not invited to the 2012

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

in Indianapolis. Folkerts attended the

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

Pro Day workout on March 27.

New Orleans Saints

After going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, Folkerts signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Folkerts was cut by the Saints on August 27.

San Jose SaberCats

Folkerts was signed by the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

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 The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Carolina Panthers (first stint)

Folkerts survived the Panthers final cuts, and was placed on the active roster for Week 1 as a

. 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.

San Francisco 49ers

On October 13, 2015, Folkerts was signed by the 49ers' practice squad.

St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams

On November 17, 2015, Folkerts was signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

from the 49ers' practice squad. On August 30, 2016, he was released by the Rams.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

On August 12, 2017, Folkerts re-signed with the Panthers. He was waived on September 1, 2017.

San Antonio Commanders

On December 27, 2018, Folkerts signed with the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF). The league ceased operations in April 2019.

St. Louis BattleHawks

In October 2019, Folkerts was selected in the second round of the 2020 XFL Draft by the St. Louis BattleHawks. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Arlington Renegades

On November 17, 2022, Folkerts was drafted by the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMah ...

of the XFL. He was not part of the roster after the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

on January 15, 2024.

Coaching career

Folkerts coached two years at

, two years at

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingate ...

, and in 2024 was named the

s coach and

coach for

References

External links

Northern Iowa profileWashburn Ichabods bioCarolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Folkerts, Brian 1990 births Living people American football offensive linemen Arlington Renegades players Carolina Panthers players Los Angeles Rams players New Orleans Saints players Northern Iowa Panthers football coaches Sportspeople from Florissant, Missouri San Antonio Commanders players San Francisco 49ers players San Jose SaberCats players Players of American football from St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis Battlehawks players St. Louis Rams players Washburn Ichabods football coaches Washburn Ichabods football players Wingate Bulldogs football coaches Coaches of American football from Missouri