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IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa defensive back Desmond King has been named to the Walter Camp All-America second team. The announcement was made Thursday night at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Atlanta.
King, last year’s Thorpe Award Winner, garnered first team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight season in 2016. He was also named second-team return specialist by both the coaches and media.
King (5-foot-11, 203-pounds), is a senior from Detroit, Michigan (East English Village HS). He started all 12 games in 2016, recording 53 tackles and seven pass break-ups. King also collected two interceptions, returning one for a 41-yard touchdown in Iowa’s win over Purdue.
A two-time All-American, King has 13 career interceptions to tie for fourth on Iowa’s career list. He was previously named a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, Bednarik Award, and Lott IMPACT Trophy.
King has handled the majority of kickoff and punt returns for the past two seasons. He averaged 9.8 yards on 25 punt returns and 27.2 yards on 25 kickoff returns this season, ranking among Big Ten leaders in both categories. His career-long 44-yard punt return led to a touchdown in Iowa’s 40-10 win over No. 15 Nebraska.
A first-team All-American last season, King is one-of-eight student-athletes to be honored as Walter Camp All-Americans in back-to-back seasons this year. King joins Myles Garret (Texas A&M), Dalvin Cook (Florida State), Jordan Lewis (Michigan), Deshaun Watson (Clemson), Daniel Carlson (Auburn), Raekwon McMillan (Ohio State), and Christian McCaffery (Stanford) as this year’s repeat All-Americans.
Randy Duncan was named the Walter Camp Player of the Year in 1958 and Banks was a finalist for the same honor in 2002. Ferentz was the Walter Camp National Coach of the Year in 2002.
The 2016 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s 50th annual national awards banquet, presented by Key Bank, on January 14, at the Yale University Commons in New Haven, Connecticut.
Iowa (8-4) will meet Florida (8-4) in the 2017 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida, on Jan. 2. The game is scheduled for a noon (CT) start, and will be televised live on ABC from Raymond James Stadium (65,422).
