Lee's veteran leadership and experience should bode well for a young Iowa secondary in 2026.
Welcome back to our countdown to the 2026 Iowa football season!
Since May 28, we've been counting down the final 100 days until the Hawkeyes swarm out of the Kinnick Stadium tunnel for their season opener against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5.
Each day of the countdown has primarily featured an article profiling one of the current members of the 2026 Hawkeyes based on their jersey number. Loyal readers already know this by now, but in case you are just now catching your football fix, here's how we do this: if a player wears No. 9 and there's nine days until kickoff, then that's the player we're going to be taking a look at.
We've had some minor setbacks because Iowa doesn't issue a jersey number for every single number in this countdown, but that's not going to be a problem anymore since we're so close to the season.
Today marks eight days until kickoff, and there's actually two men that wear the No. 8 jersey. We're going to take a look at both of them in separate pieces, and the first one will be one of the most experienced players in the secondary - cornerback Deshaun Lee.
Get to know him here.
Bio
Hometown: Belleville, Michigan
High School: Belleville High School
Year: Fifth-Year
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 189 pounds
Other notable players to wear No. 8: One recognizable player to wear No. 8 for Iowa is former defensive end Leroy Smith. Smith came to the Hawkeyes as a running back, but switched to the defensive side of the ball in his freshman season. That proved to be a match made in heaven, and it all christened into a remarkable 1991 campaign that saw Smith record a Big Ten-record 18 sacks and earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Lee's Career So Far
Iowa's secondary lacks major game experience, but Lee is one of the few in the room that has that. He arrived in Iowa City as a three-star recruit in 2022 and immediately took a redshirt year because the Hawkeyes featured a loaded secondary that year.
That 2022 season will ultimately go down as one of the few times Lee has sat on the bench in his career. Key departures after the year opened the door for Lee to get on the field in 2023, and he did just that, starting six games at cornerback and tallying 32 tackles.
The high volume of starts has continued ever since. Lee registered nine starts in 2024, where he nabbed his first career interception in a 42-10 blowout win over rival Wisconsin late in the season. A similar outcome happened last season, with Lee collecting 34 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass break-ups.
Everyone is talking about Zach Lutmer as the leader of this secondary and defense, but Lee has 25 starts and three strong seasons of playing in Phil Parker's system. That should bode well for this retooled Hawkeye defense and give Iowa much-needed continuity to build around early in the season.
Keep an eye on Lee's veteran leadership in the secondary this year.
Looking for a FREE Hawkeyes community?
Don't miss out on our Roundtable community and the latest news! It's completely FREE to join and gives you the chance to win FREE Hawkeye swag.
Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members. Download the FREE Roundtable APP and stay even more connected and get notified when new articles are posted.
Click here to join the fun!
HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]
