Mooney grad set for bowl

IOWA CITY, IOWA — Derrell Johnson-Koulianos of Campbell, a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High where he was football standout as a quarterback and running back, has been a big factor in the University of Iowa football team’s resurgence this season.

Bolstered by Johnson-Koulianos, a sophomore wide receiver and kickoff return specialist, the Hawkeyes (8-4) won five of their last six games, were the only team to beat Penn State and earned another bowl berth.

Iowa will meet South Carolina (7-5) in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. — the Hawkeyes’ third Outback appearance in five years.

And it will be their first meeting against the Gamecocks.

Iowa, coached by Kirk Ferentz in his 10th season, previously participated in the Outback Bowl following the 2003 and 2005 seasons against Florida.

Both Johnson-Koulianos and Iowa will bring momentum into the Outback Bowl, after the Hawkeyes rolled past Minnesota, 55-0, on Nov. 22 in Minneapolis in their season finale.

Koulianos enjoyed a career-best performance in that game with seven receptions for 181 yards and one touchdown (29 yards), as Iowa streaked to its third straight win.

The Hawkeyes’ previous two victories were over Penn State (24-23) and Purdue (22-17).

Johnson-Koulianos’ 181 yards against Minnesota led the team in all-purpose yards.

And Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi had his best game since becoming a starter about midway through the season by throwing for 255 yards and three scores, one of them to Johnson-Koulianos.

Leads the Hawkeyes in receiving, kick returns

Koulianos credited two factors for the blossoming of his career this season.

“Once we established our running game with [junior running back] Shonn Greene, that opened up our passing attack,” said Johnson-Koulianos. And, “When Stanzi became the starting quarterback four or five games into the season, [he and I] established a great relationship on and off the field. We have a great chemistry.

“He began getting better and better. We are learning together and studying film together and we are on the same page.”

Johnson-Koulianos leads Iowa in pass receiving with 43 catches and 621 yards for a 14.4-yard average, three TDs and 51.8 yards per game.

He also is No. 2 on the team in kick returns with eight for 165 yards and a 20.6-yard average with a long of 35 yards.

And he is No. 4 in all-purpose yards with 792 or 66.0 per game. He also has 6 rushing yards.

Stanzi, meanwhile, has completed 137 of 235 passes (58.3 percent) for 1,809 yards and 13 TDs with seven interceptions.

Talent gradually advanced Iowa career

Johnson-Koulianos, the son of Dr. Anthony and Lauren Koulianos of Campbell who is majoring in communications, had somewhat of an inauspicious start at Iowa.

After being redshirted in 2006, he was listed as second-team split end following 2007 spring practice, and not even listed on the depth chart entering the 2007 season.

But he slowly worked his way into the lineup last season and wound up with 38 catches for 482 yards for a 12.7-yard average and two TDs, while returning 22 kickoffs for 521 yards and a 23.7-yard average.

While playing three years at Mooney under coach P.J. Fecko, Johnson-Koulianos led the Cardinals to a 12-3 record and state runner-up spot as a senior, while also being rated the ninth-best prospect in Ohio. But he also had to endure two ankle injuries as a senior, the last one coming in the state semifinal loss to Bellaire.

Lauren said Derrell will have a lot of area fans cheering him on at the Outback Bowl.

“A big group is going down, about 40 or 50 people — Derrell’s extended family, including his three brothers,” she said.

XJohn Kovach covers college athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at kovach@vindy.com.