Former Iowa WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos claims Kirk Ferentz orchestrated raid that led to drug charges in December of 2010

If there’s a program that’s had a worse past few days than Clemson, it’s Iowa football.

Iowa has been forced to very publicly deal with allegations of “racial disparities” within its football program. Former players have accused the staff of creating a hostile environment for its black football players. Specifically, that longtime strength coach Chris Doyle has made racist comments in front of players. Doyle has vehemently denied the accusations.

“I’m very, very sorry for any hardships that any of them have endured,” Kirk Ferentz said Sunday. “If they didn’t feel safe to speak freely, that’s certainly something I feel very regretful about.

“Their anger and frustrations have been noted. And we intend to move something forward to improve things.”

Most of the accusations by former players had directed at Doyle. Overnight, it was the head coach who took shots from Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. Significant shots.

Johnson-Koulianos was a star wide receiver for Iowa football from 2006-10. In fact, when he left, Johnson-Koulianos was the school’s all-time leader in receptions and second in receiving yards. In December of 2010, however, Johnson-Koulianos was arrested on multiple drug charges and ultimately dismissed, missing the Hawkeyes’ bowl game. Shortly thereafter, the player stated in an interview that, while he hadn’t spoken to Ferentz since being given the boot, he “would tell coach, first and foremost, I’m deeply sorry for what I did to the university in December, the negative attention.”

A decade later, however, Johnson-Koulianos is directly blaming Ferentz for his arrest on drug charges. From a statement the former player sent to HawkeyeNation.com. And the bold emphasis is ours:

Interestingly enough, KF’s hate for me was so deep and, in retrospect, there were so many red flags. On November 20, 2010, the Senior Day against OSU, during the Pre-game ceremony, when the seniors and parents walked onto the field to walk onto the sideline to shake hands with KF, KF conveniently avoided contact with my parents while shaking all of the other parents’ hands (Feel free to check the footage). Then, after losing to Ohio State in Kinnick Stadium at the senior dinner postgame, my father, being the better man, approached Kirk Ferentz to thank him for the opportunities that Iowa Football had provided for his son. The response he gave to my parents was “Do me a favor. Tell Derrell I have one more thing in my pocket for him; I want him to worry.” He wanted me to worry and be afraid and that it was coming soon but would not elaborate further. My parents, and even my now 21- and 17-year old brothers who were eleven and seven at the time, recall this haunting exchange vividly to this day. On December 7th, 2010 the authorities raided my home, and I have no doubts, based on that conversation with my family, that it was orchestrated by KF. I was immediately kicked off the team and expelled from the university: no due process, no counseling, no treatment programs, and no second chances.

That was just the most explosive accusation made by Johnson-Koulianos. There were more levied against Ferentz, including the coach blackballing the player with NFL personnel. Again, you can read the entire lengthy statement HERE.

As of this posting, Iowa has not responded to a request from CFT for comment on the allegations.

This isn’t the first time Johnson-Koulianos has been at odds with his former program and coach. In December of 2013, Johnson-Koulianos announced that he had been afforded the opportunity to write a tell-all book on his time in the Iowa football program. “There’s so much sh t that hasn’t been revealed about what goes on and I experienced,” the former Hawkeye tweeted at the time. “This book gonna open some eyes.”

That book, as far as we can tell, was never published.

Johnson-Koulianos was recently named wide receivers coach at Bloomsburg (PA) College. Prior to that gig, Johnson-Koulianos was an assistant coach at a Pennsylvania high school. He’s also spent time at Valley Forge Military Academy as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach as well as the running backs coach at King College.