Iowa And NFL History Made With Cooper DeJean Super Bowl Touchdown

Cooper DeJean's interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl LIX has officially put his name into NFL and Iowa Hawkeye history.

For Iowa Hawkeye fans, we all knew Cooper was going to give the NFL some legendary moments at some point in his career. Honestly, it's no surprise that he did it in his rookie season, in the Super Bowl, and on his birthday.

DeJean Makes Iowa And NFL History

With about 7 minutes left in the first half last night, Cooper intercepted Patrick Hahomes to score a 38-yard touchdown that bumped the Eagles' lead to 17-0. Let's look at the incredible moment again:

Cooper's interception, the first of his NFL career and his rookie season, happened on football's and one of America's biggest stages.

Not only was that interception his first, but it also happened on his birthday. That's right, Cooper turned 22 years old on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. That etched Cooper's name in NFL and Super Bowl history as the first player to score a touchdown on his birthday in a Super Bowl.

Technically, Steve Van Buren scored a touchdown on his birthday in an NFL title game but that was in 1947 before they called it the Super Bowl.

DeJean And Dwight: Two Iowa Football Legends

With that touchdown, Cooper also became the first former Iowa Hawkeye to score a defensive touchdown in Super Bowl and NFL history. Crazy enough, Cooper isn't the first Iowa Hawkeye to score in his rookie season.

Iowa Hawkeye legend Tim Dwight scored a touchdown for the Atlanta Falcons on a 94-yard kick return during Super Bowl XXXIII. That was also Tim's rookie season but unfortunately, the Falcons lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in what was Elway's final NFL game.