Hey, Iowa: Put Cooper DeJean on offense for real, and give him the football

There may be no more-fitting honorary captain for the Iowa football team Saturday than Desmond King.

The Hawkeyes have a long lineage of great defensive backs under Phil Parker, from Bob Sanders all the way to the present. None rivaled cornerback King for results.

He had 14 interceptions at Iowa, eight in the 2015 season alone. That was the first of his two years as a first-team All-American. He won the Jim Thorpe Award that season as the nation’s top defensive back.

He would have intercepted more than three passes as a senior in 2016 had more opponents been foolish enough to throw the ball in his direction.

King also returned 45 punts in his Hawkeye career for an 11.2-yard average and had a kickoff-return average of 26 yards. He was a dynamo.

Which brings us to current Hawkeye cornerback Cooper DeJean. He was the Big Ten’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and made the midseason All-America teams of Associated Press and ESPN. His over-the-shoulder end zone pick against Michigan State is one of the plays of the year.

In addition, DeJean has returned 20 punts this year for an average of 11.9 yards, including a 70-yarder for a touchdown in that same Michigan State game that was, yes, another of the plays of the year.

And, you all know DeJean’s punt-return TD against Minnesota three weeks ago that wasn’t a punt-return TD.

In 2015, Iowa went 12-0 in the regular season. It had a future NFL quarterback in C.J. Beathard. It scored — hang on to something here — 30.8 points per game. It rushed for — you better sit down — 35 touchdowns. It passed for 17 more.

It was quite a time.

Iowa had offense. King wasn’t needed on offense. He certainly had the skills to help on offense.

Besides intercepting 29 passes in his Detroit high school career, he rushed for almost 4,800 yards. But his plate at Iowa was nicely filled with defense and returning kicks, and there was no great need to turn him into a two-way player.

DeJean plays for a team that doesn’t have offense. He is needed on offense. He certainly has the skills to help on offense.

Last week in the second quarter against Northwestern, Iowa’s coaching staff finally put DeJean in on offense. For two plays.

DeJean ran 8 yards on an end-around, with those 8 yards looking like a total transformation of the offense. On the next play, with the attention of Northwestern defenders suddenly divided because of DeJean’s presence, Iowa faked a run to him. Leshon Williams rushed for 6 yards.

That was that. Iowa averaged 2.9 yards on its other plays, par for this season’s course.

Saturday against Rutgers, the Hawkeyes need to increase DeJean’s workload. Put him in for eight or 10 or 12 offensive plays.

Why not? DeJean is a player Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz has compared to “The Natural” from fictional baseball lore, not Joe Shlabotnik. “Naturals” are rare treats. You’ll always regret underusing them.

“It's a tough one,” Ferentz said Tuesday. “I do know this, he's extremely valuable on defense, extremely valuable on special teams. So where do you give, where do you take?

“We have a pretty good thing going defensively right now. You're worried about disrupting that. Same thing on special teams. If we can get the ball in his hands, he gives us a chance as a return guy.

“Obviously I think he could really help us offensively. ... Nobody knows what the right number is, when a guy's going to get hurt. You don't know those things.”

Ferentz’s concern about DeJean getting injured on offense isn’t to be dismissed lightly. The player hits now instead of getting hit. An injury could damage his chances to be a first-round NFL draftee next spring. And yes, defense is the Hawkeyes’ meal ticket.

But the player doesn’t object, and he’s no dope. Give him the ball a few times Saturday, and give the nation’s No. 133 offense more juice against Rutgers, which has the nation’s No. 11 defense.

You’re playing for the last West Division title before the Big Ten goes coast to coast next year, and just three games remain. Get DeJean the football. I’d bet Desmond King agrees.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com