2015 Thorpe Award winner Desmond King of the University of Iowa will tour the Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation facility at INTEGRIS Southwest Medical Center on Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 9:30 a.m. King will visit with patients and sign autographs before attending a luncheon being held in his honor at the facility.
The Thorpe Award is given annually to the top defensive back in college football. King, is a junior from Detroit. His eight interceptions are tied for most in the nation. King has multiple interceptions in two games, with two thefts in wins over Pittsburgh and Wisconsin. The eight interceptions tie the Iowa single-season record. King has 11 career thefts, which ties for eighth best at Iowa.
King has recorded 39 solo tackles and 22 assists, with one tackle for loss. He leads the Hawkeyes with 11 pass break-ups. King was named the Jim Thorpe national Defensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week following Iowa’s win at Wisconsin. He had an 88-yard touchdown return in Iowa’s win over Maryland, the second touchdown of his career.
King was named a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, was named the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year, and named first-team All-Big Ten.
The Thorpe Award is named after history’s greatest athlete, Jim Thorpe, and is presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Thorpe excelled at every sport in which he competed, including football where he played on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
The other Thorpe Award finalists for 2015 were Jeremy Cash from Duke and Vernon Hargreaves, III of Florida. King is the seventh player from the Big Ten to be chosen as a Thorpe Award winner. The most recent being Darqueze Dennard in 2013 from Michigan State.
The announcement was made at The Home Depot College Football Awards Show on ESPN. King was presented the Thorpe Award by Oklahoma Governor, Mary Fallin, on behalf of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.
The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame will honor King at the Jim Thorpe Award Banquet on Tuesday night, February 2, 2016 in Oklahoma City. The banquet will be held at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
