Desmond King’s mother, Yvette Powell, has made no secret about the fact that she wants her son to earn a college degree.

The record-setting Iowa cornerback is planning to make her wish come true.

According to Powell, King will return for his senior season with the Hawkeyes and forego an early exit for the NFL draft.

“We’ve talked over the past few days and he’s going to finish his career at Iowa,” Powell said. “He feels like he has some work to do there. He’s got some things to keep working on. Pro ball, it’ll be there.”

King, the winner of the Jim Thorpe Award as the college football’s top defensive back, sought input from the NFL draft advisory board and also talked things over with family members and his coaches.

Coach Kirk Ferentz said he felt the most important thing was providing King with accurate information to make an informed decision.

Ultimately, Powell said the final decision belonged to her son, who faced a Jan. 18 deadline to declare whether he would place his name into this year’s draft pool or opt to play his senior season with the Hawkeyes.

“He made the decision,” Powell said. “This is his choice and I’m happy for him.”

King said prior to last week’s Rose Bowl game that becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college was something important to him and to his mother.

“It would mean a lot. It’s something that will factor into whatever decision I reach,” he said at that time.

King now shares the Iowa single-season interception record, tying one of the oldest mark in the Iowa record book with eight during a dominating junior season that led him to be selected as the defensive back of the year in the Big Ten.

He now shares the Iowa record established by Nile Kinnick in 1939 and matched by Lou King in 1981.

King broke up a team-leading 13 passes and finished the year with 72 tackles to help the Hawkeyes reach the Rose Bowl for the first time in 25 years during a 12-2 season that included the program’s first-ever appearance in the Big Ten title game.