Per a release from the Iowa athletic department, Hawkeye defensive back Cooper DeJean has been named to the 2023 Nagurski Trophy Watch List, announced by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on Tuesday.
The Nagurski Trophy is awarded to the best defensive player in college football. Former Hawkeye linebackers Josey Jewell (2017) and Pat Angerer (2009) were previously finalists for the honor.
DeJean saw a brief amount of time on the field as a true freshman in 2021, but broke onto the national college football scene as a sophomore for the Hawkeyes in 2022.
One of the more versatile members of the Iowa secondary, DeJean played the majority of his snaps at cornerback. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and second team by the coaches after finishing with 75 tackles, five interceptions, and eight pass breakups. He set Iowa’s single season record with three interceptions returned for scores. He also averaged a team-best 16.5 yards on 10 punt returns a year ago.
The release included that "DeJean has also been named to the Athlon Sports and Phil Steele 2023 preseason All-America second teams, as well as being voted to the Big Ten Conference Preseason Honors List and first-team All-Big Ten accolades by Phil Steele, Athlon Sports and Pro Football Focus."
Though expectations are high for DeJean this upcoming season, he told us at Big Ten Media Days that he's focused on himself and the team.
"It's the preseason," he said. "Everybody is 0-0, so it doesn't mean a whole lot. I just want to go out and prove that I can do it during the season. So that's what I've been focused on. You can't worry too much about that right now. I just have to focus on what I can do in camp to help our team get better."
In addition to DeJean, several other Big Ten athletes were named to the list, including Abdul Carter (Penn State), Kalen King (Penn State), Chop Robinson (Penn State), Junior Colson (Michigan), Kris Jenkins (Michigan), Rod Moore (Michigan), Tommy Eichenberg (Ohio State), Lathan Ransom (Ohio State), JT Tuimoloau (Ohio State), Cal Haladay (Michigan State), Jer'Zhan Newton (Illinois), Keith Randolph Jr. (Illinois), Maema Njongmeta (Wisconsin) and Tyler Nubin (Minnesota).
