Iowa’s Cooper DeJean works on becoming more vocal leader on defense

IOWA CITY — When Cooper DeJean stepped foot last April on Duke Slater Field for Iowa’s final spring practice, he was not a household name yet.

The Odebolt native had four tackles and one 20-yard kickoff return in seven games as a true freshman. Most of his snaps were on special teams.

Fast-forward a year to the Hawkeyes’ 2023 open spring practice, and it’s no secret that DeJean is one of Iowa’s best defensive players.

The defensive back had a team-high five interceptions as a sophomore and returned three of them for touchdowns. He allowed an NFL passer rating of 49.7, per Pro Football Focus.

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker has particularly taken note of a skill DeJean has developed that has little to do with his pick-6s, though.

“I really like his leadership — how he’s developing that,” Parker said.

DeJean, despite usually having a quieter personality, has been more vocal in this year’s spring practices.

“He’s talked to some guys when he sees things that they’re not doing exactly or finishing the play,” Parker said. “It might be just like, ‘Hey tuck the ball away.’”

It was one of Parker’s “first things I saw about seven days ago from him" in a practice.

“Wow, OK, that’s good,” Parker remembers saying. “Because he wouldn’t say that before. … He's very humble, and I've never seen him really do that before.”

DeJean said earlier this spring “trying to be a leader” has been a focus for him as he prepares for the 2023 season.

“Learning the things I did during last season on the field and getting those reps and helping the younger guys to come along as well,” DeJean said.

The 20-year-old has needed to be more vocal in a position group that is significantly younger this spring following the graduations of Riley Moss and Kaevon Merriweather. Other defensive backs departed via the transfer portal.

Iowa only had one defensive back on its Week 1 depth chart in 2022 who was in his first or second year on campus, and that was DeJean.

Now, Iowa has four defensive backs on the spring two-deeps who will be in the first or second seasons of college football.

Redshirt freshmen Koen Entringer and T.J. Hall both mentioned DeJean as one of the veterans who have been especially helpful, along with Quinn Schulte and Jermari Harris.

“I admire Coop,” Entringer said earlier this month. “He's a really hard worker on and off the field.”

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com