While watching the Morningside Mustangs football team play at Elwood Olsen Stadium, there is a chance you might notice a number 46 lined up fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage on a rare Morningside punt play. This player waiting to catch the snap and punt the ball, just as he had thousands of times before, is Colton Irlbeck.
Irlbeck was born on May 12th, 1999, in the small town of Carrol, Iowa. Though, Irlbeck lived in the even smaller town of Templeton, Iowa, a tight knit community of about 350 people.
Irlbeck grew up on a farm with his parents as well as two brothers. While his father was working on the farm and mother at the local bank in Templeton, young Irlbeck and his brothers spent most of their time playing various sports with each other on their large plot of land.
Along with sports, religion played a large roll in Irlbeck’s life. Going to a Catholic church service twice a week and attending a Catholic High School, Irlbeck noted, “I enjoyed it, it was a great way to be connected with my family and friends in the community.”
While at Kuemper Catholic High School, Irlbeck was a 4.0 GPA student and played varsity in two sports: football and soccer. Due to the two sports and lifting, Irlbeck had little free time, but mentioned, “Between school and sports my time at Kuemper seems like a blur, but I always really enjoyed going to the lake with my friends whenever we had the chance.”
Once he graduated from high school, Irlbeck had a tough choice on his hands. He faced a choice between attending Iowa State University or the then Morningside College. Irlbeck said, “I had trouble picking, but once coach Ryan offered me a scholarship the choice was simple. I wanted to play football and Morningside gave me the chance to do it.” Irlbeck added, “Now, I have no regrets about my choice.”
On the field, Irlbeck is a two-year starter and one of the top ranked punters in the NAIA. Off the field, he is an accounting and finance major in his senior year. In his continually rare off time, Irlbeck looks to hanging out with his friends, Irlbeck joked, “Since you spend so much time with your teammates, they easily become some of your closest friends, so I look forward to hanging out with them.” Irlbeck is also an avid golfer when Iowa weather allows it.
After Morningside, Irlbeck hopes to become a financial adviser and possibly even own a financial planning office. Irlbeck mentioned multiple internships he has had through Morningside exclaiming, “I’m thankful for internships I’ve been able to do because they showed me what I like and possibly saved me from things I don’t.” Seeing his two brothers start their families has shown Irlbeck how excited he is to start a family.
“I feel like I’ve had a pretty basic journey here at Morningside.” this underexaggerated statement from Irlbeck shows that no matter what he accomplishes, he will always be a humble farm boy from Templeton, Iowa.
Leave a Reply