Ex-Hawkeye Football Player is A Tinseltown Stuntman
A former Hawkeye who came to Iowa City in the late '80s and fell in love with the atmosphere here like everyone else, then played wide receiver with 4 NFL teams in the '90s, is now hobnobbing with the likes of Will Smith in Hollywood as a stunt man!
Iowa plays Purdue this Saturday, and it's homecoming week. All the talk this week has stemmed from the drama surrounding last week's game. Fans storming the field after a Hawkeye win, allegations of Penn State players faking injuries to slow the momentum at key moments in the game, and in return Iowa coaches mocking them for it and doubling down on their reactions.
Former Iowa wide receiver Quinn Early is bringing a different sort of drama to this week's game, in a more positive way, as he will be Iowa's homecoming grand marshal. For the last 20 years or so he has enjoyed a unique career as a Hollywood stunt double. According to IMDb, Early has been a stunt performer on TV series such as 9-1-1, Lethal Weapon, S.W.A.T., SEAL Team, and the Mandalorian, and did stunts for actor Smith in a movie called "Bright".
The San Diego Chargers (now based in L.A., ironically) drafted Early in the third round in 1988. He went on to play for New Orleans, Buffalo, and the New York Jets before taking the football pads off for good in 1999. That's a nice career in the NFL.
Lest you wonder who he'll be rooting for this weekend, he leaves no doubt in a Cedar Rapids Gazette interview that he'll be standing by the Hawkeyes, saying "there is no other college team".
The homecoming parade featuring Quinn Early will be tonight at 5:45 p.m. in Iowa City.