He dresses to the nines, happily admits he saw the “Sex and the City” movie in the theater on opening weekend and says he is as careful with other people’s feelings as he is with the football in his hands. The receiver Iowa fans have come to know simply as DJK might have the greatest upside of any player on the Hawkeyes roster. He doesn’t have the numbers yet, but he has the physical tools and, as we find out here, the mentality to be a difference-maker in the Big Ten.
Q: What do you like to do when you’re not on the field?
A: I’m a big electronics guy. I love electronics. I live at Best Buy. I’m always looking for ways to enhance my theater in my home. I’m big into fashion, too. I love cars, and women, you know, are huge in my book. My brother’s a film student at NYU, so growing up I always watched him. He was always trying to hook things up. He would try to hook our toaster into our alarm clock. He was doing things like that, so I got into it that way.
Q: Your brother goes to NYU? Have you ever been in one of his films?
A: Yeah, I have. He actually made my high school highlight tape, and I was in one of his films for school that he had to make to get into film school. So, yeah, I made a couple star appearances.
Q: So, is there a movie career coming after football?
A: Probably, yeah, I think so. I’ll start off with commercials, do some things like that, some advertisements and then break into the movie world.
Q: If you’re going to play an action hero, what’s the role?
A: I’m Tony Stark from “Iron Man.” That’s who I am. Iron Man is by far the baddest super hero of all time. It’s unreal. In costume, out of costume, it’s a brilliant film.
Q: You say you’re into fashion. Who are you wearing?
A: Right now, I’ve got some Armani on. I’ve got some Express glasses. I enjoy clothes. I enjoy dressing up. Any opportunity you get to dress up, I feel like you should.
Q: Are you making some kind of statement?
A: I’m not making a statement. I’m never trying to make a statement. You want to stand out on the field. I don’t want to stand out off the field. I just love to get dressed, and I love to smile.
Q: So, do you get labeled a sensitive guy?
A: Yeah, I’m kind of a sensitive guy, an emotional guy. In turn, I’m always considerate of other people’s feelings. I don’t care who you are or what you do, you treat everybody with the most respect. People notice that, and they return respect.
Some people don’t give you respect because you’re a football player and this and that. But you continue to be nice to them. That’s just the kind of person I am.
Football is the most important thing to me, but I don’t think just because you’re a football player you have to carry that football player image. I love the game, but I have a lot of other things I like to get into besides football.
Q: Do you like the nickname DJK?
A: I love it. I love the fans here. I love being a guy who is talked about. I’m just glad I came to Iowa.
Q: Seems like you have the personality of a guy who wants to be a star?
A: I want to be a guy who can change a ball game. I want to make plays. I want to make Kinnick sell out. I want to get us back to bowl games. That means being a star, wouldn’t you say? I want the ball in my hands at critical times in the games. I want to be counted on by my teammates and coaches. That’s being a star, I think.
It’s not that I want to be in the spotlight all the time. I just want to be a guy who, years down the road when they look back and say DJK, the first thing they think of is a guy who made plays and wanted to win.
