The 19-year-old Spaniard has been excellent at the centre of the Cherries defence, since he began his consistent run of games in the reverse fixture to this weekend vs Spurs in December.
Huijsen was the match winner against Tottenham, rising to meet a Marcus Tavernier corner in the 17th minute and heading home.
Since that date, the Spain U21s international has earned huge plaudits for his performances.
Asked how soon after he signed in the summer did Iraola know he had such a talent in his squad, the Basque boss said: “I think you have the feeling in the first trainings.
“You feel the player, you see the qualities straight away.
“I didn't know about his mentality because when you sign someone that is 19, you see, okay, it looks like he’s going to be a good player.
“But you are not sure if he's ready to perform straight away against the best opposition. That is what he's facing in the Premier League.
“And he showed since the first day, I think he started playing the season against Forest. He played really well.
“And after, he was more or less with Marcos, with Zaba, playing maybe a little bit less. But straight away, once he got a good run of games, everyone sees now that he's a very good centre back.”
On his best attributes, Iraola said: “I think his mentality, his head.
“I think he's confident. He is not afraid of marking any forward and I think he's calm on the ball.
“He knows what he's doing, he's under control. Sometimes he will make mistakes like all the others, but there is always a reason for the things he does.
“And for someone that is 19, it's really strange to find this at this level.”