There was no shortage of Cooper DeJean dominating on Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers as the Iowa Hawkeyes took home the Heartland Trophy in a 24-10 win. His performance garnered attention from one big, tradition-rich game.
The Rose Bowl announced that Cooper DeJean was their selection as the Week 11 Rose Bowl Game Big Ten Player of the Week.
The Week 11 #RoseBowl Game @B1Gfootball Player of the Week, Cooper DeJean, DB, @HawkeyeFootball!
🟡 10 tackles, 1 INT
âš« 32-yard INT returned for a TD
🟡 Recorded a team-high 114 all-purpose yards in the win
âš« First career Player of the Week honor pic.twitter.com/u87U7Lxt82— Rose Bowl Game (@rosebowlgame) November 14, 2022
DeJean’s performance was an all-around boost for the Hawkeyes. His pick-six to get the Hawkeyes on the board, his field position changing punt returns, and his play as a gunner helping down the ball at the one-yard line pinning the Badgers deep all contributed to this recognition.
“Yeah, there’s probably not a position on the perimeter he couldn’t play. You’d have to change your offense if he was your quarterback. But I’m pretty sure he could be a pretty good running back, I know he could be a really good receiver, and you think about the four positions on defense in the back end plus the nickelback, the slot guy, so there’s five right there,” head coach Kirk Ferentz elaborated on DeJean’s broad skillset when asked about his big game.
His play was truly special on Saturday and it is up for discussion that his performance was what won the game for Iowa.
“He’s a special kid and special player, too. You obviously see it out there, he is going to continue to do great things,” linebacker Jack Campbell told media when asked about his fellow defender’s game.
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