It hasn’t taken long for sophomore defensive back Cooper DeJean to wow Iowa Hawkeyes fans. Halfway through his first season starting, the 6-foot-1, 209 pound Odebolt, Iowa, native has registered 37 tackles, eight passes defensed and he’s come away with three of the Hawkeyes’ six interceptions.
In addition to just the production that everyone sees, DeJean offers defensive coordinator Phil Parker positional versatility.
“We had him at corner, and I think what you really mean was he ended up in corner at the end of the Kentucky game. He can play. When we first recruited him, we recruited him as a defensive back and didn’t know exactly where he would fit in.
“He has the ability of playing actually corner, CASH, I think strong safety, can play free safety. I think he can play multiple positions back there. For a guy to be a sophomore and do the things that he can do and understand what he needs to do I think is really good,” Parker said.
It sounds like DeJean has the knack for plays that turn heads in practice.
“Just looking at him and saying how can he do all this stuff? He has great balance. He has great football awareness. He sees things, and he is always on his feet and has always, what I say, play with good leverage. I’m really pleased the way he goes.
“He has great ball skills. Some catches that he makes during practice that are what I call freakish. You know what I mean? One-handers behind and all this stuff. You say I’m sure he can play multiple positions, but he is definitely mature enough, hard worker. Always in the film room or always working,” Parker said.
Maybe it’s cliché, but it’s in practice where Parker first knew that DeJean could end up as one of the Hawkeyes’ next talented defensive backs. The beautiful thing for Iowa fans is he’s still just getting started and should continue to improve as he goes forward.
“I guess when you go out there and you are with these guys every day, you kind of get used to what you are seeing. My expectations of him become higher every time he goes out there. Obviously, he started real fast and started going to it, and I think he is still improving. I think he has a little bit more to give even. That’s the way you look at it.
“If you look at it, everybody wants to be perfect. Even if he makes a play, you want to be perfect, right? And nobody is perfect. Everybody will say you can’t be perfect. But you can try to be perfect. If you get to try to be perfect, you can be excellent, right, instead of just going around and being average,” Parker said.
Right now, Pro Football Focus grades DeJean as one of the nation’s top cornerbacks. DeJean currently has a coverage grade of 84.5 on the season and an overall defensive grade of 81.7. In the midst of a fantastic start to his career, it’s exciting to think about what DeJean can continue to develop into.
[lawrence-related id=11396]
[lawrence-related id=11377]
[lawrence-related id=11372]
[listicle id=11402]
[listicle id=11263]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01fvdcxf97xrgg1awc player_id=none image=https://hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF
Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.