With the 2023 regular season in the rear view mirror, the Big Ten is naming All-Big Ten teams and handing out individual awards to the season's top performers. Tuesday's focus is on defense and special teams players, while offensive players get the spotlight on Wednesday. To the surprise of no one, the Iowa defense, one of the top defenses in the nation this season, had several players honored by Big Ten coaches and media.
First, Cooper DeJean was named the Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year.
DeJean, whose 2023 season was unfortunately cut short by a leg injury during practice two weeks ago, finished the year with 41 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and five passes broken up. He ranked second on his own team in interceptions and third in passes broken up.
Of course, raw numbers don't tell the full story with DeJean because opposing quarterbacks simply avoided him. His performance last year -- five interceptions, three returned for touchdowns -- firmly established his reputation as a defensive back to avoid, which played out this season.
DeJean allowed just 21 receptions on 46 targets for a total of 205 yards, or an average of 9.8 yards per reception. He allowed zero touchdowns in coverage all season.
This recognition for DeJean continues Iowa's dominance of this award. Since the award was created in 2011, it has gone to an Iowa player almost half the time -- six of the 13 recipients have been Hawkeyes, starting with Micah Hyde in 2012. That Iowa dominance has only become more pronounced of late as well, with Hawkeyes taking home the honor five times since 2015:
2015: Desmond King
2017: Josh Jackson
2018: Amani Hooker
2021: Riley Moss
2023: Cooper DeJean
DeJean's influence wasn't limited to defensive back, either. He was also a sensational punt returner, and his efforts there were also recognized by the Big Ten, as he was named the Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year.
DeJean finished second in the Big Ten in return yards (241), return average (11.48), and touchdowns (1) to Penn State's Daequan Hardy (who had 17 returns for 248 yards, a 14.59 yards per return average, and two touchdowns), but no return man had a greater impact on his team's fortunes than DeJean.
DeJean's punt return touchdown against Michigan State was the turning point in the game and the eventual game-winning score.
His returns also set up several other much-needed scoring opportunities for Iowa's struggling offense. And, of course, he should have had two game-winning punt return touchdowns for the season, if not for an absurd outcome in the video replay booth at the end of the Minnesota game.
The Return Specialist of the Year award is another one that's been dominated by Iowa players. Three Hawkeyes have been honored as Return Specialist of the Year since 2018.
2018: Ihmir Smith-Marsette
2021: Charlie Jones
2023: Cooper DeJean
Iowa's three wins are the most by a single team since the award was created in 2015; no other team has won more than two Return Specialist of the Year awards.
DeJean was also named to the first team of the All-Big Ten defense. He was joined on that team by LB Jay Higgins.
Higgins ranks first in the Big Ten in tackles with 141 stops, almost 30 more than the player with the second-most tackles (Wisconsin's Hunter Wohler had 113 stops). Higgins has been the beating heart of Iowa's defense -- and also its strategic brain, organizing the defense and getting everyone into the correct positions play after play and game after game.
Tory Taylor also earned individual honors, as he was named Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year.
This is Taylor's second time winning the award, after previously receiving it in 2020. He becomes the first-ever two-time winner of the Big Ten Punter of the Year award.
Taylor was a simply dominant punter this season. He led the Big Ten in both gross punting average (47.7 yards per kick) and net punting average (44.4 yards per kick). His 31 punts inside the 20-yard line led the nation.
Despite attempting more punts than anyone else (79), opponents returned just 25 punts for 156 yards, an average of 6.2 yards per return. Only five of those 79 punts went for touchbacks as well.
Taylor's punting was a tremendous complement to Iowa's stifling defense and his contributions also often helped tilt the field position battle in Iowa's favor, which ultimately benefited the offense as well.
Taylor and DeJean were both named first-team All-Big Ten performers as specialists. Iowa kicker Drew Stevens was named third-team All-Big Ten by the coaches as well.
In addition to DeJean, Taylor, and Higgins, a few other Iowa defenders were also named to All-Big Ten teams. Defensive back Sebastian Castro was named to the All-Big Ten second team.
Joe Evans and Nick Jackson were also named to the All-Big Ten third team.
Big Ten coaches named Sebastian Castro, Quinn Schulte, Nick Jackson, Logan Lee, Joe Evans, and Yahya Black to Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. Big Ten media named Deontae Craig, Logan Lee, Yahya Black, and Quinn Schulte to Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
Congratulations to all the players who received All-Big Ten honors or individual awards; Iowa's defense has been the key of this team's success this season, which makes it very fitting for so many members of Iowa's defense (and special teams) to be honored by the league's coaches and media.
