From Unknown to Unstoppable: Caleb Streat
Published on July 28, 2025 under Indoor Football League (IFL)
Iowa Barnstormers News Release
Through the 19th and 20th centuries before the adoption of automobiles in the United States, Americans routinely used horses for travel and, more specifically, to get work done.
Barnstormers defensive back Caleb Streat didn't know what would happen when he came to Des Moines, but there may not have been a better term use for the Indoor Football League's interception leader than 'work horse.'
"I don't know who Caleb's best friend would be," one teammate said.
"Hey anyone know who Streat hangs out with," another asked down the hallway at the end of a practice meeting.
When he isn't on the football field, Streat works at Lowes, going in immediately after practice before arriving home and turning in for the night.
That's just his way of doing things since arriving in Des Moines.
"It's actually been better (than I thought it'd be)," Streat said. "I didn't think there'd be a city like there is - and then the football team. We're like a family. Being eight hours away from home and hanging out with them every day has just been way better than I thought."
But he gets along with everybody on the team. He's a glue guy.
"Caleb's a really good locker room guy," head coach Dave Mogensen said. "He's the goofy, always-dancing, happy-go-lucky guy. He'll pop into an offensive meeting and just shout, 'hey just so you guys know, I love you all,' and then he'll walk out. He's just trying to keep things light, on top of (how good he is at picking the football off)."
Streat wasn't always elite at ball-hawking. He ended his college career at Tiffin University - a Division ll program in Ohio - with three picks to his name.
He added 23 pass breakups, 46 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss on top of it.
But Mogensen found Streat in the off-season and has helped assistant coach Donald Burrell in getting the rookie acclimated.
"Caleb Streat has definitely gotten better," Mogensen said. "Both Caleb and Jared (Saad) have really taken to the coaching from Coach Burrell. There's some things that Caleb still needed to prove as a rookie, but things that he does so stinking good - it's crazy."
Streat didn't have a pick in any of the team's first three games.
Then, in a home game against the Fishers Freight, Streat pulled down his first interception of the season, putting Iowa's offense in a good spot.
It wasn't much later in the night that Streat would pick up his second INT of the game and return it to the Fishers end zone.
"It's a lot of film study, for sure," Streat said. "If you ain't in the right place at the right time, you can get beat for a touchdown. It's knowing what the receiver is doing, how that receiver moves, reading the quarterbacks eyes - stuff like that."
When asked if he had gotten better at it this year, his answer was simple.
"Yes, absolutely."
Streat found his third interception in the team's next game, on the road in Jacksonville.
He had another stretch of three-straight games with interceptions a pair of weeks later.
Fast forward to Iowa's home finale against Quad City, and Streat brought in a seventh pick to give him the league lead on the season.
"Man, there's a lot of film study that goes into that," Mogensen said. "What Caleb has is the innate ability to feel stuff and not have to see it. So, he's able to look at the quarterback and see where the quarterback is looking and feel the routes around him - that's why he's getting the picks.
"Most guys have to look at the routes, see them coming and then you're late seeing the ball," Mogensen said. "Caleb has this great ability to just feel this route getting behind them and get in the way of it."
Streat ended the season as the only DB in the IFL to return three interceptions for touchdowns.
He credits a friendly bet with his father as to why his numbers saw such a jump this season.
"What's funny is in college, I only had three picks," Streat said. "My dad and I made a bet on how many picks I could get, and ever since then, I've been trying to get as many picks as I can."
It may have a little to do with it, but there's no denying how integral it's turned out for Iowa.
Indoor Football League Stories from July 28, 2025
- Panthers Draw First-Round Bid with Vegas as 2025 IFL Playoff Bracket Solidifies - Bay Area Panthers
- From Unknown to Unstoppable: Caleb Streat - Iowa Barnstormers
- Wheelers Fall in Regular Season Finale But Clinch Number One Overall Seed in East - Quad City Steamwheelers
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