By Charlie Green
[email protected]

Dear award committee,

Give Desmond King the Thorpe Award. Do it. You know you want to.

Because how many players in the country have 8 interceptions? There’s one guy with more, and he plays for Northern Illinois.

Can you point to any other defensive back in America and say he did as much for his team as King? You thought about it for a second before you realized you couldn’t.

The Hawkeyes probably don’t beat Wisconsin or Pitt without him. His 88-yard interception return for a touchdown against Maryland kept it from becoming interesting. His pick of Nate Sudfeld against Indiana did the same.

The guy made plays, game after game. He cut in front of routes. He won jump balls. He put athleticism and ball skills on full display.

And he hit, too, both how they teach it in Pop Warner and in not-so-fundamental methods. He helped set an edge against the rush that wasn’t there in 2014. The former two-star recruit chirped and scrapped and fought through games, often letting his opposition know exactly what had just transpired.

And you’re thinking about not voting for him, aren’t you?

In honor of the great Jim Thorpe, give his namesake award to a guy that resembled the way Thorpe played so long ago, because King has done it as a return man, too.

He gave his offense a short field on numerous occasions with his knack for finding room where there isn’t much.

Yes, this is an award for defensive backs, but his all-around greatness was integral in the Hawks starting 12-0. He was a step away from setting up a fourth-and-goal, all-or-nothing play for the Big Ten title. King played his typical nasty style, and even though his team ultimately lost, much of the country got a glimpse of what he and the Iowa defense had to offer.

And yet you want more.

Sure, Duke safety Jeremy Cash has 18 tackles for loss, and that’s more than most linebackers and defensive linemen ever reach in a season. That’s pretty impressive.

So impressive that you’re probably thinking about voting for him.

You’re probably pondering to yourself, “That has to be some kind of record, maybe I should give him the nod.”

No. Don’t do it. Don’t do it because King gets the ball back for his offense and crushes the dreams of opposing offenses.

Duke won only seven games. And I know it’s more complicated than the way one player performs, but you can point to several games in 2015 that Iowa probably doesn’t win without King’s playmaking presence.

So vote for King. If you don’t, then you might hate America. I’m not completely sure about that, but there’d be no way of knowing.

Unless you vote for him. Then we can avoid this mess entirely.

There’s only one King in college football. It’s about time he gets his rightful crown.

Yours truly,

Chuck