Iowa Hawkeyes 2023 Snapshot Profile: No. 45 Deontae Craig
If you are looking for the next Iowa Hawkeye breakout star on defense, look no further than junior defensive end Deontae Craig.
Technically, Craig already experienced his breakout season last year, but, unfortunately, nobody seemed to pay attention. While much of the attention went to some of the other stars on the defense, Deontae Craig quietly had a great season.
Craig actually led the Hawkeyes’ defense with seven sacks, sharing the top mark for tackles for loss with 10.5. Craig also forced three fumbles. Despite being a rotational edge rusher, Craig greatly impacted the Hawkeyes last season.
Craig showed up when it mattered most, too. He racked up 5.5 sacks in the last six games of the year. He was a star in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl shutout against Kentucky with 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
While he didn’t receive nearly as much attention as he deserved last year, don’t expect that to continue in 2023. Iowa’s defense has an opening for a new superstar, and watch out for Deontae Craig to step into that spotlight. Here is a look at Deontae Craig’s 2023 snapshot profile.
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Deontae Craig's Preseason Player Profile
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Ind.
Ht: 6-3
Wt: 266
Class in 2022: Jr.
Recruiting Ranking
Stars | Overall | State | Position | |
247 | 3 | N/A | 2 | 21 |
Rivals | 4 | 216 | 1 | 11 |
ESPN | 3 | N/A | 4 | 59 |
On3 Recruiting | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
247 Composite | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Before Iowa
Class 4A all-state as a junior
Named to IFCA Top 50 as a junior and senior
Holds school records for career tackles, career and season sacks, and tackles for loss in a season and career
Career Stats
Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FR | DL | ||||||||||||||||||
FR | DL | 8 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
JR | DL | 13 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 10.5 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 5/22/2023.
Depth Chart Overview
Deontae Craig is currently listed as the starting defensive end opposite to returning senior Joe Evans. While Iowa does have a lot of returning talent on the defensive line, they are tasked with replacing both Lukas Van Ness and John Waggoner. Iowa rotates their line a lot, but expect to see Craig heavily featured this year.
Quote Them
“Deontae is a guy who, again, you talk about ascending players. Last year, just watched him, you could kind of see it coming. I don’t think he’s done yet. I think he’s got all kinds of upside in front of him, too,” Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz said of Craig in March.
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