Youngest Eagles player to make a big impact early in his career

PHILADELPHIA – It would be easy for Cooper DeJean to let the moment become too big for him. He's just 21, the youngest player on an Eagles team that gets younger every year, and not quite two months younger than the next youngest player, Jeremiah Trotter, Jr.

DeJean doesn't turn 22 until February 8th, shortly after Trotter reaches that “mature” age on December 24th. Still, the rookie out of Iowa has made a big impact on the defense since being inserted into the starting lineup following the bye week.

“It’s crazy to think about a 21-year-old playing against grown men,” DeJean said. “But I think just as I grew up, I feel like my parents helped me mature from a young age. They taught me how to work hard and how to stay humble, and coming from a small town, I feel like those are things you have to have, especially when you have such big dreams.”

The Eagles weren't showing his age when they selected him in the second round, trading two premium picks to NFC East rival Washington to move up to the 40th pick overall.

So how does someone who is so young and looks even younger like DeJean get to where he is today?

Born in South Dakota, DeJean moved with his family to Ida Grove, Iowa, a small town of barely more than 1,000 people where cattle are king and there are no traffic lights, just stop and yield signs.

His parents encouraged his big dreams by keeping him and his two brothers busy with household chores and work tailored to becoming an outstanding footballer.

“Our parents knew we really liked sports, so they pushed us hard to work on those things because they knew we loved it,” DeJean said. “Those are the things they pushed us to work hard on. They knew we had dreams and if you want to achieve those goals, you won’t get there without working hard.”

Every now and then he would go to a friend's house to help feed the livestock, but otherwise his chores were those that any average young teenager would do, like mowing the lawn, doing dishes, and more. He attended the University of Iowa, which helped his game grow even bigger.

During his years with the Hawkeyes, he played all three positions in the secondary and was a unanimous All-American in his senior season. He was also a finalist for the Bronco Nagurski (nation's best defensive player) and Jim Thorpe (nation's best DB) awards. He was the Big Ten's Defensive Back of the Year with 41 tackles (26 solo) and two interceptions.

In his career, he had seven interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns, 120 tackles (85 solo) and 20 passes defensed in 30 games, including 24 starts.

Perhaps it's a coincidence that the Eagles are 2-0, as DeJean was installed as the starter after the Eagles bye week. Heading into Sunday's game against the Bengals in Cincinnati (1 p.m./CBS), he has 10 tackles with a half-sack and a quarterback hit.

“He’s very coachable,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “I have a good style of play. I think that's a strength of his and it's only going to get better. And I think the more he plays and the more experienced he gets – you try to expose him to as many things as possible in training, but obviously you can't always do that with the low reps in training.

“But I think he’ll learn – he won’t be a repeat offender. If he makes a mistake doing something new, it stays in his memory and won’t happen again.”

There are things DeJean needs to work on from his slot position, such as man-to-man coverage. He performed well in zone defense, a defense that Fangio primarily used against the Giants.

“I just have to continue to improve my techniques, especially when it comes to man marking,” he said. “That’s what I’ve tried to work on and gather the information that the offense is giving us.

“The more reps I get out there, the more I start to understand what an offense is trying to do to us, understand the areas where they can hurt us in certain coverages, and kind of think about the play within the game.” The more comfortable you are out there, the more you can think about it.”

So far, so good. Especially for a player who is only 21 years old.

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