Video: Cooper DeJean Thinks He Can Beat Caitlin Clark 1-on-1 After NFL Teams Asked

Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean says he's ready to take on the highest-scoring player in college basketball history in a one-on-one with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.

"A lot of teams have asked me if I could beat Caitlin Clark in a one-on-one, just being from Iowa," DeJean told Yahoo Sports Wednesday ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. "I said, I think I can. She'd probably score a few buckets on me, but I think I could pull it off."

"It would be close, though. ... She can shoot from anywhere, I think," DeJean added, per Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports.

Clark finished her senior season at Iowa as the highest-scoring player in college basketball, men's or women's, with 3,951 career points. She was drafted by the Fever with the No. 1 pick of the 2024 WNBA draft on April 15.

DeJean is ranked as the No. 27 overall NFL prospect in the B/R NFL Scouting Department's final Big Board ahead of Thursday's draft. He is projected to be a first-round pick Thursday after recording 41 tackles in 10 games at cornerback for the Hawkeyes in 2023.

Before starting his college career at safety prior to moving to corner, DeJean was an All-Iowa high school athlete in football as well as track and basketball.

That basketball background, as well as the athleticism that allowed him to successfully transition from safety to corner, could help DeJean in the hypothetical one-on-one matchup. Even then it would be difficult to outshoot Clark, who has already established herself as one of the best shooters in women's basketball history.