Jaxx DeJean Spends Time with Iowa Football

Jaxx DeJean is lucky. He's embarking on the recruiting process with the benefit of his brothers' experiences and advice. 

The Odebolt Arthur Battle Creek Ida Grove (OABCIG) High freshman watched his oldest sibling, Cooper DeJean, navigate the journey before becoming an All-American at Iowa and a likely first-round NFL Draft Pick later this month. The middle child of Katie and Jason DeJean, Beckett DeJean, was a true freshman for the South Dakota Coyotes this past fall. 

The University of Alabama-Birmingham offered Jaxx his first scholarship. The Blazers came forward with that opportunity at the end of February. 

Jaxx returned to Iowa City last Friday to take in a Hawkeye spring practice. He visited as a recruit in the past and has been around the program while Cooper has starred in it. 

"I enjoyed talking to the coaches and checking out the places," he told HN. "It’s just a great environment." 

Prep Redzone recently ranked Jaxx (6-4, 200) as the No. 1 Class of 2027 prospect in the state of Iowa. The service listed his position as Athlete, which makes sense. 

He has receiver, quarterback and cornerback posted on his Hudl page, but his freshman highlight video opens with "Athlete" in the first frame. As a pass-catcher, DeJean shows excellent athleticism in winning 50-50 balls. On defense, he's fluid as a defensive back, portending positional versatility depending on where his frame ends up. 

As a ninth-grader, DeJean hauled in 37 passes for 500 yards and seven touchdowns, ran 20 times for 128 yards and five scores, intercepted four balls, recovered two fumbles and racked up 25 solo tackles (1.0 TFL). He served as the team's punter and earned second-team all-state honors from the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association as a defensive back. 

Iowa certainly owns an advantage over other programs right now when it comes to familiarity. The Hawkeyes know DeJean and his family very well. 

"I definitely know quite a bit about Iowa from being there every Saturday and going on a couple visits," Jaxx said.

The youngest DeJean brother's recruitment is in a very early phase. He holds summer camp invites from Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota so far. 

"I think I’m good where I’m at, especially this early in the recruiting process," he said.

The Hawkeyes will continue evaluating and building a relationship with Jaxx. He plans on providing an up-close look at what he can do during June. 

"I’ll be down there for a camp this summer and would like to get down to a few games this fall," he said.