Iowa Depth Chart Dive: Secondary

The Iowa secondary tallied 40 interceptions and averaged just 190 pass yards per game over the last two seasons. It’s a group that consistently ranks near the top nationally, and they’ll be there again this season with a preseason All-American and some former highly-touted recruits.

Cornerbacks

Iowa’s most impactful player is Cooper DeJean and he will line up at the left cornerback spot. The Odebolt, Iowa native was a four-star recruit with no FBS offers other than the Hawkeyes. In his first year as the starting cornerback last year, DeJean had five interceptions and returned three for touchdowns. The three pick-sixes tied the career record for an Iowa defender, and DeJean only needed 13 games to get it done. He’ll be looking to break the record this season. DeJean was named to the Preseason AP All-American team ahead of the 2023 season.

On the other side of the defense, Jermari Harris will be the right-side cornerback. Harris is ready to build off of his breakout sophomore season in 2021. He came into the starting role mid-season due to injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. Coming off of the bench, Harris had four interceptions in the team’s final six games. In the Citrus Bowl, he had four tackles, two pass breakups, an interception, and just 18 yards allowed. In that game against Will Levis and Kentucky, Harris looked to be ready to take the next step into 2022. Unfortunately, an injury kept him sidelined for all of the 2022 season. He’s healthy now and has grown into one of the vocal leaders on the defense. Look for Harris to make an impact this season at corner.

Sebastian Castro will line up at the CASH spot once again this season. He was a reliable slot corner last year, tallying 33 tackles, five pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. His performance earned him Iowa’s Next Man In Award at the completion of the season. Castro started seven games in 2022 and will enter this season with 27 games played at Iowa.  

Safety

Phil Parker has the challenge of replacing one of his most consistent players over the last several years in Kaevon Merriweather. Fortunately, stepping into the strong safety spot is a former five-star recruit, sophomore Xavier Nwankpa. As a true freshman last season, Nwankpa played 12 games and started in the Music City Bowl. Against Kentucky, Nwankpa had a season-high eight tackles and returned an interception for six early in the second quarter. The sophomore has big shoes to fill, but his talent level makes him more than capable to take the role.

At free safety, Quinn Schulte started all 13 games last season and has played in 27 games throughout his career at Iowa. Last year, Schulte was fourth on the team with 71 total tackles and added eight pass breakups and an interception. Having Schulte’s experience next to a Nwankpa’s talent is great for the secondary.

Depth in the Iowa Secondary

There have been a few Hawkeyes making a name for themselves this offseason, and that includes cornerbacks TJ Hall and Deshaun Lee. Hall is one of the players we have been following through fall camp. He’s been trending to be ready for that third true corner in the rotation this season. But Lee is a player stood out in Iowa’s open practice a few weeks ago. The redshirt freshman recorded two interceptions during live scrimmages, and returned one of them 95 yards for a touchdown. Both Lee and Hall were class of 2022 guys, but Hall was able to get on the field a little bit last season. From what we’ve seen up to this point, both of these two are trending towards being in the rotation this year.

Castro is listed as the backup strong safety behind Nwankpa, and Koen Entringer is on the two-deep behind Schulte. Entringer was a class of 2022 safety who saw action in four games, recording his first career tackle against Minnesota. Iowa is young behind their starter and staying healthy at the position will be critical. As a whole, however, Iowa’s secondary will have a chance to be one of the better groups in the conference.