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149 O ne thing University of Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker looks for in a recruit is their fondness for contact. Parker was pleased when, in the fall of 2014, he attended a Michigan high school Division 2 state football semifinal between Muskegon Mona Shores and Farmington Hills Harrison. One of the stars for Harrison was 175-pound defensive back Michael Ojemudia, an Eastern Michigan commit whose brother, Mario, was a defensive end at Michigan. "I thought he was long, could play either corner position, and was tough enough to be able to tackle guys in space," Parker observed. Oh yeah, he also knocked two quarterbacks out of the game, the first being Tyree Jackson, who is now with the Buffalo Bills. Iowa offered Ojemudia a scholarship and several Big Ten programs followed the Hawkeyes' lead. A final decision was made aer Ojemudia took an official visit to Iowa City. "I didn't need to take any other visits," he said. "I had another visit scheduled to Indiana, but I knew I didn't need to take any more because I liked Iowa a lot." What's not to like about Iowa's history of developing defensive backs? When Ojemudia arrived on campus in 2015, the depth chart was stocked with future NFL players Desmond King, Greg Mabin, Josh Jackson, and Amani Hooker. Parker has earned a reputation of turning lightly- recruited prospects into Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Conference Defensive Backs of the Year. It has happened four times since 2012 and three of the past four seasons with Micah Hyde (2012), King (2015), Jackson (2017), and Hooker (2018). e 6-foot-1, 200-pound Ojemudia stays in touch with former teammates and that connection reaffirmed his "Once a Hawkeye, Always a Hawkeye" belief. Instead of revealing the wonders of professional football, King, Jackson, and Hooker want to talk to Ojemudia about college ball. Specifically Iowa's 2019 season. "ere are a lot of big games on the schedule and they want to see us go back to a Big Ten Championship," Ojemudia said. "ey remind me that you aren't doing it for yourself, you're doing it for the whole state of Iowa. Getting back to the Big Ten Championship would be good to see." Ojemudia opened his final season as a Hawkeye by making three tackles, breaking up a pass, and returning an interception 14 yards to set up a touchdown during Iowa's 38-14 win over Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 31 in Kinnick Stadium. Like many college student-athletes, Ojemudia's career has been defined by patience. He was redshirting on Jan. 1, 2016, when the Hawkeyes came up short against Stanford in their most recent trip to the Rose Bowl. He made five tackles as a freshman in 2016, then his playing time increased. As a sophomore, Ojemudia started three games and made 29 tackles (20 solo). He started seven times last season, making 39 tackles with nine pass breakups and three interceptions. "ere is patience to it, because you might be behind a guy (on the depth chart), so you have to learn from him and your coaching," Ojemudia said. "Similar to high school, I have always been a developmental player, so the best years are usually my later years. "Gaining the most information each year has been my objective; getting better little-by-little so I can have the best campaign my senior season." Ojemudia had a strong finish to the 2018 regular season. In Iowa's 11th game — a 63-0 win at