Desmond King named Big Ten Freshman of the Week

Iowa cornerback Desmond King was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for his performance against Ohio State this weekend.  King recorded 12 tackles, including 10 solo tackles, in Saturday's game.  He now ranks second among freshmen in the conference in tackles, though that might not be the best figure for measuring a cornerback's performance.

King becomes the first Hawkeye to ever win the Freshman of the Week award (the Big Ten did not begin handing out Freshman of the Week honors in football until 2010).  He is the first Iowa football player to win a Big Ten weekly honor since James Morris won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after the Hawkeyes' win over Minnesota in Week 5.

Harty interviewed King's high school coach -- Kirk Ferentz prohibits reporters from talking to freshmen -- and found there might have been a reason why he was so successful against Ohio State:

"Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue and all those schools where the coaches come in and out of our hallway all the time and had multiple opportunities to evaluate him, but chose to wait.

"He said (to me), ‘I've got to makes these guys pay.' "

King won a starting position in the Iowa secondary after Jordan Lomax was injured early in the season, and has not given his spot back since.