Many believe the origin of DeJean’s journey to be OA-BCIG but they’ve got it wrong. DeJean’s journey as an athlete traces back to his home, rather, a special person from his home: his grandfather. Al Wilke, DeJean’s grandfather, was a football coach for the world but was a personal football, basketball, and life coach for DeJean.

The journey of forging Cooper DeJean to be a DE fit to be drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft was not an easy one. Reminiscing about his school days, when he was a little boy with an undying curiosity about the world of sports, he was accompanied by a man well versed in it. Guiding him while holding his hand, DeJean candidly shared his childhood memories with his grandfather in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports.

“So my parents were working when I was in school, so he was the guy who took me down to play football or baseball, which was cool. So he’s had a pretty large impact on my sports career,” DeJean confessed when asked about the impact of his grandfather on his sports career. De Jean’s grandfather was one of the first ones to see the potential in him, prompting him to delve head-first into multiple sports at once: football, baseball, and track and field.

The inspiration partially came from his parents, since his father, Jason DeJean, played basketball at Huron University in South Dakota while his mother handed the basketball and softball at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. But the credit for cementing his foundation as an overall athlete goes to his grandfather, Al Wilke.

“He’s taught me a lot. He’s very knowledgeable about the game of football and other sports as well. So it’s just fun to sit down and talk with him about those things. You know, he’s taught me a lot about different sports. He’s a big baseball guy as well, so he helped me become a baseball player. So he’s had a huge impact on my life for sure,” DeJean further added in his interview. While his grandfather is the one who witnessed the beginning of his sports career, there is a figure, very similar to his grandfather, whom he considers as his inspiration too.

Cooper DeJean’s all-time favorite athlete

“When I watch highlights, that’s the guy I enjoy,” Cooper DeJean admitted in his exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. The Iowa DE proudly admitted that Deion Sanders is the one whom he wants to emulate.

The starting narrative is already done, with DeJean scribbling the beginning of his story just like Deion Sanders. Now the real question is, would DeJean be able to create a legacy as steller as Prime Time? After all, it’s 2x Super Bowls, 8x Pro Bowl, and even the NFL National Defensive Player of the Year we’re talking about.Touted to be drafted as a first-round pick, mostly in the 20s, DeJean’s debut will be a defining moment in the legacy he is trying to build like Deion Sanders in his own unique way.

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