On Wednesday, the Iowa Hawkeyes officially announced that star cornerback Cooper DeJean had suffered a season-ending injury and will not return to the lineup this week. And Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz made it pretty clear just how important he was to the team – on and off the field.
During his press conference this week, Ferentz made a point not only to praise DeJean for what he did on the field, but what he did off of it as well.
“You think about how well he does so many things and how smoothly he does them, doesn’t draw really a lost of attention to himself as an individual except with his play,” Ferentz said. “It’s just stellar. Sometimes, you catch yourself saying, ‘Did he just do that?’ It’s just amazing. The punt return that got called back, I can go down the list. I just want to say that about him because he’s one of the better players I’ve ever bene around and does it in such a quiet, graceful way.
“Boy, I’ll tell you, he’s one [heck] of a football player and he’s a great young guy. Just a tremendous guy. But boy, talk about a guy who can play football.”
Though DeJean’s season is over, he will likely be selected in the first two rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft.
