Commitment Spotlight: Mookie Cooper

The Texas coaching staff has done a good job of cultivating and developing relationships with recruits outside of the state of Texas and those efforts really came to fruition in the 2019 recruiting cycle. The staff plucked several blue-chip prospects from across the country, as they continued to expand their recruiting footprint into fertile recruiting grounds outside the borders of the Lone Star State.

One of the areas that we have seen the staff become more active in is the state of Missouri and particularly the St. Louis metro area. The staff landed Daniel Carson (Independence, MO) and Ayodele Adeoye (St. Louis) in 2018 before circling back and landing Marcus Washington (St. Louis) in 2019. With Washington on board the staff put themselves in a very strong position to make it three straight years of landing a stud from the Show Me State and that’s exactly what they did by dipping back into the Trinity Catholic pipeline to land Mookie Cooper.

Cooper’s affinity for Texas has been well known for a while, and he had even gone as far to say that him and Washington would be playing together at the collegiate level. That statement looks like it is closer to becoming a reality, as he has officially given his pledge to the Longhorns.

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Pros:

• Despite not being a big guy (5’9,178) he possesses good competitive toughness and isn’t afraid to mix it up whether it be as a blocker, as a defensive back, or going up for a ball as a receiver. He’s feisty and doesn’t back down.
• Will be a versatile chess piece on the offensive side of the ball if utilized properly. Can line up at running back, be split out at receiver, and be motioned all over the formation.
• Dynamic with the ball in his hands in several ways that includes returning the ball on special teams.
• Possesses good wiggle and is very elusive in the open field. He’s going to make his fair share of defenders miss in space.
• Possesses very good acceleration and good stop and start ability. Doesn’t have to throttle down much in his cuts.
• You better get your hands on him early in his route because he chews up ground in a hurry and can create separation from defenders.
• Does a good job of tracking the ball in the air and making adjustments.
• Even though he is on the smaller side, you see him consistently break arm tackles as a ball carrier.
• Has solid hands but does tend to body catch at times. [/one-half-first]

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Cons:

• Despite not being a big guy (5’9,178) he possesses good competitive toughness and isn’t afraid to mix it up whether it be as a blocker, as a defensive back, or going up for a ball as a receiver. He’s feisty and doesn’t back down.
• Will be a versatile chess piece on the offensive side of the ball if utilized properly. Can line up at running back, be split out at receiver, and be motioned all over the formation.
• Dynamic with the ball in his hands in several ways that includes returning the ball on special teams.
• Possesses good wiggle and is very elusive in the open field. He’s going to make his fair share of defenders miss in space.
• Possesses very good acceleration and good stop and start ability. Doesn’t have to throttle down much in his cuts.
• You better get your hands on him early in his route because he chews up ground in a hurry and can create separation from defenders.
• Does a good job of tracking the ball in the air and making adjustments.
• Even though he is on the smaller side, you see him consistently break arm tackles as a ball carrier.
• Has solid hands but does tend to body catch at times. [/one-half]

Summary

Teriyon Cooper aka “Mookie” is a multi-year varsity starter at wide receiver and running back for Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, MO. Cooper is a utility player that probably falls under the offensive weapon moniker, as he splits time between the two positions and is constantly moved around the formation, as they try to find mismatches to exploit. Cooper has logged snaps at cornerback on the defensive side of the ball and returns both kicks and punts on special teams. Cooper is listed at 5’9, 178 pounds, but doesn’t appear to have too slight of a frame that makes me think his size will be an issue. On tape, Cooper consistently punches above his weight class and shows good competitive and physical toughness as a ball carrier, receiver, blocker, and defender. Cooper may be vertically challenged, but don’t get it twisted because the young man is feisty and likes to compete. Speed, quickness, and elusiveness are all calling cards for Cooper and that is evident without having to watch too much tape on him. He’s an absolute headache to corral when he has the ball in space and his ability to accelerate and stop and start making him a tough out in the open field. When he splits out as a receiver, he is able to gain separation with ease from defenders. He is the kind of player you will want to get your hands on early in his route to try to slow him down at the LOS.

At this point in his development, Cooper doesn’t have a ton of variety in his route running tree, but with his ability he hasn’t really needed to because he run past just about anyone who tries to cover him. On top of that, one thing I also noted is that while he does possess solid hands, he does tend to body catch a bit, which is something he will have to iron out moving forward. As a ball carrier, Cooper shows the ability to get to the edge of defenses with ease regularly and shows that he isn’t timid when asked to hit up between the tackles from time to time. One thing I noticed is that he consistently runs through arm tackles, so dismiss the notion that he’s a little guy will go down at the first bit of contact he gets. I don’t know what exactly to peg Cooper as at this point, but he seems to be in the Tyreek Hill mold, in which he’s able to stretch a defense vertically and horizontally and can hurt you in multiple phases of the game. If he gets paired up with a creative offensive mind at the next level that can get him involved in different ways, then he has a chance to be a dynamic playmaker.

Final Verdict

While the Texas offense certainly took a big step forward in the right direction 2018, it still lacked explosive plays and that is the kind of plays a guy like Cooper can bring to the table in the future. Landing Cooper is a huge win for the Longhorns both as a momentum generator regionally and as a generator nationally as they continue to expand their recruiting footprint into the St. Louis metro area. Cooper had offers from heavy hitters from all over the country, but he was smitten with the idea of playing his collegiate ball in Austin, and when his teammate Marcus Washington decided to head to the 512 as well it made the decision even easier.

After landing guys like Bru McCoy, Jordan Whittington, and Jake Smith in 2019, I was curious to see what the Texas staff would do for an encore, and they are already off to a great start by taking Cooper off the board early in the cycle. With back to back top three recruiting classes already secured, the Texas staff could be on their way to making a strong bid for another one if they can continue to add more studs like Cooper into the mix down in Austin.