Cooper DeJean Will Help Wherever Needed

Second-Year Iowa Defensive Back Brings Versatility to Hawkeyes

Iowa's Cooper DeJean (3) covers a punt during the Big Ten Championship Game against Michigan on Dec. 4, 2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Cooper DeJean did everything on his high school football team, so he’s willing to do the same thing in his second year at Iowa.

Cornerback? That’s fine.

Safety? Sure.

Kick returner? Why not?

Gunner on special teams? He’s done that already, but that’s fine.

Holder on kicks? Absolutely.

“Anywhere I can help the team out,” DeJean said.

For now, he’s listed at No. 2 on the depth chart at left corner. But it’s clear DeJean is going to be used in whatever way possible this season, just to get his talent on the field.

DeJean was a four-year letterwinner at quarterback and defensive back on the OA-BCIG high school football team that won back-to-back Iowa state championships in DeJean’s junior and senior seasons.

That kind of versatility can help, DeJean said.

“It provides a lot of opportunities,” DeJean said.

Going from a small school to a Big Ten team was a bit of a shock for DeJean, who got his first game experience playing special teams in the 27-7 loss at Wisconsin, when he had a kick return for 20 yards.

“I was pretty nervous, obviously, with the first experience,” DeJean said. “It’s really helpful (playing special teams). It helps you understand the speed of the game, especially coming in as a freshman. Here, obviously, we take a lot of pride in special teams. It was good to get that experience under my belt.”

That kind of experience earned the trust of special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, who used DeJean more and more as the season went on, including in a gunner role on punts.

“We threw him in there and we had a need,” Woods said. “We had some guys that went down. But to his credit he paid attention in the meetings and it gave me confidence because he worked every day. That kind of just let me know his mindset. We're talking about gunners and coverage, but that gave me the mindset to know the guy's a football player.”

DeJean has also impressed defensive coordinator Phil Parker.

"He’s played outside (at cornerback), but he can play inside (at safety) and even at the ‘Cash’ (Iowa’s hybrid linebacker-safety) spot,” Parker said. “There’s really multiple positions he can play.”

DeJean even worked on the scout team offense last season, which gave him a different perspective on Iowa’s defense.

“You can try to figure out what coverages they were playing,” DeJean said. “So I think that helped me — by playing offense, it will help me on the defensive side.”

DeJean got some experience at cornerback late in Iowa’s Citrus Bowl loss to Kentucky.

“I’ve got to work on trying to figure out what the offense is trying to do to me,” DeJean said. “Obviously I only got in a couple of plays at corner at the end of the bowl game, but I think it helped a lot just to show the speed these guys play with, these guys on the edge. It’s a lot different than where I came from.

“I understand the speed of the game now, and what’s going on. I understand the defense a lot more this year. That’s good for me.”

DeJean has a position on the depth chart. But expect him in a lot of different spots this season.

“I’ll play anywhere,” he said.