Lake Forest College Head Football Coach Jim Catanzaro recently announced the hiring of Quinn Schafer as the program's quarterbacks coach and the promotion of Luke Butts to defensive coordinator.
Schafer spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Coe College, where he directed the quarterbacks in 2015 and running backs last year. The 2016 Kohawks set a program record with 11 victories and the team's running back earned Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference MVP and First Team All-American honors after leading the nation with 1,913 rushing yards. With Schafer as the quarterback coach in 2015, Coe averaged 296 passing yards per game, surpassed 300 yards in a game five times, and posted back-to-back 400-yard passing performances. The Kohawks' signal-caller was named Honorable Mention All-IIAC after the season.
Schafer's coaching experience also includes two years as the quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator at Chesterton High School in Indiana and a spring season working as an assistant quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at the University of St. Francis.
Prior to becoming a coach, Schafer was a four-year quarterback at Valparaiso University. He also helped Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, capture a state championship and was named the title game's Most Valuable Player.
"I am extremely excited to join the Lake Forest football program and family," began Schafer. "I am thankful for Coach Catanzaro and the rest of the administration at the College for giving me the opportunity to join a great team and help win a conference title."
"Despite being a relatively young coach, Quinn brings with him a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of success," notes Catanzaro. "He has experience with numerous offensive schemes and has been part of winning programs at several different levels. I am thrilled about what he brings to our players and the rest of the staff."
Catanzaro also made an adjustment to his staff on the defensive side of the ball by promoting Butts, the Foresters' cornerbacks coach since 2013 and special teams coordinator the last three seasons, to defensive coordinator. Butts coached Alex Pasiewicz to First Team All-American honors as a returner in 2016 as the senior tied for the national lead in kickoff (3) and punt (2) return touchdowns and finished with 997 combined kick return yards. Under Butts' direction, Lake Forest ranked tied-for-first in the country with five blocked punts and tied-for-third with eight blocked kicks. In addition, cornerback Chase Slagboom was a Second Team All-Midwest Conference selection in 2016 and he has intercepted five passes over the last two seasons.
"It is very exciting for me to see Luke, an alum and great coach, step up into this new role and the challenges that come with it." began Catanzaro. "His successful coordination of our recruiting efforts and record-setting special teams over the last few seasons has been tremendous and he has certainly earned this promotion. His passion for Forester football stood out during his four years as a player and has continued to be evident as we approach his fifth season on staff. I look forward to seeing him continue to make impact on our program."
Lake Forest posted an 8-2 overall record and finished in third place in the MWC with a 6-2 mark in league play last season.
