Iowa Football Position Preview: DB

Cooper DeJean Leads Talented Group in Hawkeye Secondary

The last time we saw Cooper DeJean and Xavier Nwankpa on the field together, they were returning interceptions for touchdowns in the 21-0 win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.

So it wasn’t a surprise when Iowa’s first depth chart of the season came out that the two were on it at No. 1 at their respective positions — DeJean at left cornerback and Nwankpa at strong safety.

What will be around them, though, is a collection of young talent waiting to have their breakthrough moments like DeJean and Nwankpa had last season.

T.J. Hall, a sophomore, is listed as DeJean’s backup. Koen Entringer, a redshirt freshman, is listed as the backup to senior Quinn Schulte at free safety. Redshirt freshman Deshaun Lee is No. 2 at right cornerback behind junior Jermari Harris.

Defensive coordinator Phil Parker has his pick of talent, especially at cornerback.

“DeShaun Lee has done a pretty good job,” Parker said. “You have (Brenden) Deasfernandes who has done a good job so far. Obviously, we have TJ Hall who has done a good job, really progressing well, he is probably the third guy right now. We still have some other guys who are working like Deavin Hilson, who moved over from running back towards the end of the year.”

It’s similar depth at the safety positions.

“(Quinn) Schulte is the veteran guy, if you will, kind of the stabilizer right now, and then we've got a bunch of other guys competing,” Ferentz said. “Xavier is doing a good job and making good progress. (Koen) Entringer is the same way. He's doing a good job, as well. (Sebastian) Castro (No. 2 behind Nwankpa) has been practicing well, he played his best in the bowl game.

“That's kind of us. We've got some young guys coming along, and we've got an older guy like Castro who finally got some traction in that bowl game and really looked like a Big Ten safety, not just a specialist, if you will. So I think we have good competition back there.”

Parker gave a similar rundown of the list.

“Start off with Quinn Schulte, he has the most experience,” he said. “He’s like a general back there, a coach on the field, he makes a lot of decisions, and communications wise. Then we have Xavier — he is doing pretty well, and Castro. Those guys are the top three, and Koen is pushing. He has done a good job in the first seven practices. I think we’ve got four or five guys at safety.”

That kind of depth makes that defensive backfield one of the best in the Big Ten, with DeJean and Nwankpa as the leaders.

DeJean had three interception returns for touchdowns in 2022 on the way to being named a second-team All-Big Ten selection. He had five interceptions overall, and added 75 tackles.

Nwankpa faced the usual freshman growing pains, but those subsided late in the season as his playing time grew.

“For me, I really like how I’ve grown, but I want to keep getting better every day and every practice,” Nwankpa said. “I want to keep competing and become the best player that I can. I am seeing things different now compared to when I first got here. I have a much wider picture, and the past year and a half that I’ve been here has helped. I feel like it will benefit me this upcoming season.”