Cooper DeJean To Miss Rest of ’23
A season filled with injuries to key Iowa Football players rose another level Wednesday. Star cornerback and punt returner, Cooper DeJean, suffered a lower leg injury. A UI press release stated the junior would “will miss the remainder of the 2023 football season,” according to coach Kirk Ferentz.
“This is truly heartbreaking for Cooper,” Ferentz said. “He has played extremely well and is a real playmaker on our team. We will all support Cooper during his recovery, which will continue into the new year.”
DeJean joins starting quarterback Cade McNamara, and the team’s top two tight ends, Luke Lachey and Erick All Jr., in suffering a season-ending injury.
“This has been a season filled with challenges for our team. I am proud of how our players have responded with tremendous grit and determination. We are focused on Saturday,” Ferentz said.
A strong case can be made for DeJean being the Hawkeyes’ most valuable player this season. He’s certainly their most dangerous dude, whether a team is throwing the ball his way or if he’s settling under a punt.
The Odebolt, Iowa product has played over 400 snaps in coverage this season without giving up a touchdown, according to UI. He leads the Hawkeyes in pass break-ups (5), is second in interceptions (2) and seventh in tackles (41) this season.
On special teams, DeJean had a 70-yard game-deciding touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Michigan State. He leads the Big Ten and ranks 13th nationally with an 11.5 punt return average and he is second nationally in punt return touchdowns. He had one controversially taken away against Minnesota.
DeJean also is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. Many of the early NFL Draft mocks see him as a first-round pick in 2024.
DeShaun Lee, a redshirt freshman, is listed as DeJean’s backup on this week’s depth chart ahead of Saturday’s senior day game against Illinois. Jermari Harris is the other No. 1 cornerback with Deavin Hilson behind him on the latest two-deep. It’s a position with limited experience behind DeJean and Harris.
Lee (5-10, 187) started the first two games of this season with Harris out of the lineup. He played well, racking up 15.0 tackles (8 solo) with two passes defended.
Sixth-year receiver Nico Ragaini has experience returning punts from back in ’19 and ’20. We didn’t see much during Kids Day practice when he came to punt returning as DeJean was clearly the guy.
It’s an assignment usually best suited for defensive backs and receivers. Candidates on the roster beyond Ragaini include Kaleb Brown, Seth Anderson, Alec Wick and Kaden Wetjen, to name a few.
The Hawkeyes need one win in their final two regular-season contests to clinch the Big Ten West outright. It would put them in the Big Ten Championship for the second time in three years. Now, they must take on the task without their best player.
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College Football Playoff Rankings 2023: Week 13 Poll Announced by Committee
On paper, very little changed in the College Football Playoff race this past Saturday.
But, in reality, so much did.
The undefeated contenders in Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Washington and Florida State all won, as did the one-loss teams that are still alive in Oregon, Texas, Alabama and Louisville.
Yet the tenor of the season drastically changed for Florida State because quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending leg injury in Saturday’s win over North Alabama. How the selection committee handles the ACC powerhouse, especially when compared to teams such as Washington, Oregon and Alabama, is a talking point in the aftermath of the setback.
There is a blueprint in place, as Ohio State won the initial CFP national championship with third-string quarterback Cardale Jones under center after injuries to Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett. But the committee only put the Buckeyes in as the No. 4 seed after Jones destroyed Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Seminoles will have to prove they are still among the top four teams in the country without Travis in a similar fashion when they finish their season against Florida and then Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.
For now, the committee placed them at No. 5 in the latest set of rankings, which were released Tuesday:
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Washington
- Florida State
- Oregon
- Texas
- Alabama
- Missouri
- Louisville
- Penn State
- Ole Miss
- Oklahoma
- LSU
- Arizona
- Oregon State
- Iowa
- Notre Dame
- Kansas State
- Oklahoma State
- Tennessee
- NC State
- Tulane
- Clemson
- Liberty
These rankings are just the backdrop for the biggest college football weekend of the season.
The annual showdown between Ohio State and Michigan is the undoubted headliner with a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game and inside track for the No. 1 or 2 seed in the final CFP rankings hanging in the balance.
While Ohio State still made the CFP last season with a loss to the Wolverines, such an avenue may not be available for this year’s loser with Georgia, Florida State, Washington, Oregon, Alabama, Texas and even Louisville still in the race.
An Ohio State or Michigan team that didn’t even make its conference championship game may not get the benefit of the doubt over a one-loss conference champion such as Oregon, Alabama, Texas or Louisville, which only raises the stakes of the latest edition of The Game.
Throw in Michigan’s ongoing sign-stealing scandal, Jim Harbaugh’s suspension and the Buckeyes looking to return to recent dominance in the rivalry after dropping two straight, and there is no shortage of storylines.
It isn’t the only notable contest this week.
Oregon State will attempt to play spoiler to rival Oregon in the final regular-season matchup between the two teams before the Ducks head to the Big Ten. The Beavers would surely love nothing more than to ruin Oregon’s national title dreams as it heads out the door in a Friday night clash.
Many of the other contenders are also dealing with rivalry games, although they will likely be much less challenging.
Alabama plays an Auburn squad that just lost to New Mexico State, Georgia faces five-loss Georgia Tech, Florida State hits the road to play six-loss Florida, Washington goes against six-loss Washington State, Texas faces five-loss Texas Tech, and Louisville plays five-loss Kentucky.
Any upsets from that list of matchups would shake up a race for the four spots that will surely all still be up for grabs during the conference title games.
