Iowa cornerback Desmond King won the Jim Thorpe Award for best defensive back in the country.
By Danny Payne
Desmond King isn’t only the best defensive back in the Big Ten, he’s also the best defensive back in college football. The junior cornerback has been named the winner of the 2015 Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the best defensive back in college football.
King, who was awarded the Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year before Iowa’s loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game Dec. 5, finished the regular season with 8 interceptions, good for second in the country and tied for the all-time single-season Hawkeye record with Nile Kinnick and Lou King.
“I want to thank God, my family here to support me — my mom, my little brother, my high-school head coach, Rod Oden, over there, and my auntie. Last but not least, my best friend, coach [Phil] Parker,” King said at the College Football Awards in Atlanta Thursday. “I believe this year, I improved more on watching film, took it more serious, started emerging as a leader.”
That leadership led the Hawkeyes to their first undefeated regular season in the modern era and within 3 points of the Big Ten crown.
A native of Detroit, King is the first player in Iowa history to take home the Thorpe Award, which was first awarded in 1986.
“Winning the Thorpe Award is a great honor for Desmond and a tribute to the hard work he put in before and during the season,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said in a release. “The honor is a reflection on how well our guys played as a team this season.”
“We received outstanding play from our defense, offense, and special teams. Desmond played a key role for our defense and served as a catalyst for our special teams as well.”
The Hawkeyes are scheduled to take on Stanford on Jan. 1, 2016, in the 102nd Rose Bowl.
“It’s an honor to be able to represent this name,” King said. “I’d like to thank the Jim Thorpe committee and the Thorpe family to represent this name.”
