Cooper DeJean, Jay Higgins, Sebastian Castro discuss looming decisions about whether to pursue NFL in 2024

IOWA CITY — Cooper DeJean’s big decision — whether to go to the NFL or stay for a fourth year with Iowa football — was once unfathomable for the athlete who was “coming from a small-town school in Iowa.”

“When I first committed here and got here, I didn’t even know if I could play at this level,” DeJean said.

Now, the unfathomable is not only fathomable, but imminent as DeJean is among the Hawkeyes who have less than a month to decide whether to stay or go pro.

DeJean, fellow defensive back Sebastian Castro and linebacker Jay Higgins — three of the players with looming decisions — all told reporters on Monday they are undecided.

Higgins ideally wants to make his decision before Iowa’s Jan. 1 appearance in the Citrus Bowl so he can be entirely “focused on winning" against Tennessee.

“The sooner, the better,” Higgins said.

DeJean, who earned unanimous All-America status despite missing part of the season with an injury, has “no set date” for a decision as he is “trying to take my time with it.”

“I’m still trying to go through that process and talk to as many people as I can,” DeJean said.

On one hand, DeJean is a projected first-round pick (and would make millions of dollars from his rookie signing bonus alone). On the other hand, appealing factors for staying include the “team atmosphere” and “playing for these coaches.”

“They love to teach the game, and they’ve made me a better player over my past three years that I’ve been here,” DeJean said. “So that’s a lot to consider as well.”

Particularly in DeJean’s case, defensive coordinator Phil Parker is “not going to be mad either way.”

“You earned the right to make that decision,” Parker said.

Higgins, who does not have the NFL Draft projections that DeJean has, is aware of the benefits and drawbacks of either decision.

“It’s a long offseason, so you got to know what you’re committing to, coming back,” said Higgins, who has the opportunity to use his extra COVID-19 year of eligibility. “And then obviously nothing’s written in stone at the next level. … Is the grass greener on the other side?”

Castro, who is considering whether to spend a sixth year in Iowa City, said he has gone “back and forth on what I want to do.”

“I’ve been wanting to play in the NFL since I’ve been a kid,” Castro said. “But to come back another year and just improve my game, it’s not a bad deal either.”

The opportunity for Castro to improve his draft stock in 2024 “does have a factor in me coming back or not.”

Castro, like Higgins, is not listed in Pro Football Focus’ rating of the top 275 prospects in this year’s draft class.

DeJean, Higgins and Castro — the defensive trio and others were available for media interviews Monday following their All-America recognition — are not the only ones with big decisions looming.

Others who have not announced plans for 2024 include tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All and defensive back Quinn Schulte. The deadline for players with remaining eligibility to enter the NFL Draft is Jan. 15.

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz emphasized the importance of players only coming back if they fully want to be back, noting it is “not good for anybody” if a player is only “80 percent committed.”

Ferentz also recognizes that “ultimately it’s their choice.”

“Our role really is if a guy’s looking to make just a really bad decision, you just try to alert them to that,” Ferentz said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com