Iowa NFL Draft prospect says he can beat Caitlin Clark in 1-on-1

'I think I could pull it off'

Caitlin Clark recently was the first pick of the WNBA Draft after a record-setting college basketball career, but she isn't the only Hawkeye to go pro this month.

Cornerback Cooper DeJean will more than likely hear his name called Thursday night and find a home in the NFL.

Despite going pro in football, DeJean made a bold prediction about his athleticism.

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Cooper DeJean and Caitlin Clark

Cooper DeJean says he thinks he can beat fellow Iowa Hawkeye Caitlin Clark in a game of one-on-one. (Getty Images)

DeJean told Yahoo Sports "a lot of teams" asked him if he could beat Clark in a game of one-on-one basketball.

"I said I think I can," he admitted. "She'd probably score a few buckets on me, but I think I could pull it off."

In DeJean's defense, he did have a pretty nice basketball career — in high school.

He was a three-year varsity basketball player while attending OABCIG High School in Ida Grove, Iowa, scoring 1,832 points. That's 45 more points than NBA player Harrison Barnes scored in Iowa during his career (but 55 behind Detroit Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson).

Cooper DeJean

Cooper DeJean of the Iowa Hawkeyes plays against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium Nov. 19, 2022, in Minneapolis. (David Berding/Getty Images)

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But Clark is arguably the greatest women's college basketball player of all time.

Earlier this year, she became the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, putting up 3,951 points during her four years, among numerous other college records. She played in back-to-back national championships with Iowa but lost both.

Recently, she signed a reported $28 million endorsement deal with Nike that will include her own signature shoe. After the Indiana Fever drafted her, her jersey sold out within an hour.

Caitlin Clark at the draft

Caitlin Clark speaks at a press conference after she was selected with the No. 1 overall pick BY the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn April 15, 2024. (Vincent Carchietta/USA Today Sports)

She also was the star of the four most-viewed women's college basketball games of all time, three of them Iowa's final three games of this most recent March Madness tournament.

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Authored by Ryan Morik via FoxNews April 25th 2024