I mentioned earlier this morning, OLB Justin Cooper is Texas Tech's 23rd commitment of the year. Lost DT Jon Lewis and gained WR Jakeem Grant. There's not much out there about Cooper in terms of information, but there's plenty of film to watch. The first clip are highlights from his 2010 season and the second clip (I think) is from his junior year, 2009.
The Measurables:
Justin Cooper
Position: OLB
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2
Rivals Profile5.5
Scout Profile N/A
ESPN Profile
Ht: 6'1"
Wt: 205 lbs
Forty: 4.60
High School: University School of Nova South (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
So much more after the jump.
The Player Speaks: The Sun-Sentinel's Patrick Lammer spoke with Cooper after his commitment and although he's committed to Texas Tech, he still might take additional visits:
"I basically consider myself done [recruiting-wise], but I might take a visit to Miami or Minnesota," Cooper said. "But I consider myself committed to Texas Tech."
I tried to sell this concept to my wife after asking for her hand in marriage. She didn't go for it.
Anyway, Cooper liked the scene in Lubbock and his chances to play early:
"The people are nice. I felt comfortable. I feel comfortable living there four or five years.
"The coach said I had a good chance to come in and play early."
Video: Cooper plays mostly outside linebacker, but he also sneaks in some plays at running back and safety. He seems comfortable playing in coverage and that's a good thing. Given his high school size, linebacker seems like a natural fit as he's probably a step too slow to play safety at the collegiate level, but looks like he has enough speed to play linebacker. Now he just has to add some size.
Scouting Report: Cooper's ESPN profile has this bit on Cooper:
Although Cooper plays both linebacker and running back it appears his skills and production are better suited for the outside linebacker position at the major level of competition. His good open field tackling skills suggest the potential for success as a special team's player.
Truthfully, if you look at the first video and the second video, I'd say that Cooper looks like a much more fluid athlete than in his senior film, but that may just be me. Cooper plays some running back in the second film and you can see his speed. Cooper played football in Florida, but I believe his school is a relatively small school. As mentioned above, Cooper seems really comfortable in coverage, but he also looks comfortable stepping up to stop the run.
Maybe Cooper represents Tuberville's venture into Florida to find a player that may have gone un-looked by the major universities. Cooper's offer list isn't all that impressive (Cincinnati, Marshall, FIU, Connecticut), but he's not rated that poorly as far as Rivals is concerned (Although strangely, he's not rated by Scout at all. Expect that to change in 24 to 48 hours.).
Justin, welcome to Texas Tech and Git Your Guns Up!
The 2011 Class:
| Position | Commitment | Ht/Wt | High School/State |
Rivals
|
Rivals Rating |
Scout
|
ESPN
|
ESPN Grade |
| QB | Michael Brewer | 6-0/175 | Lake Travis (Austin, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 78 |
| RB | Kenny Williams | 5-10/210 | Hendrickson (Pflugerville, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 4 | 4 | 80 |
| RB | Bradley Marquez | 5-11/180 | Odessa (Odessa, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 4 | 79 |
| WR | Derek Edwards | 6-1/163 | Brenham (Brenham, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 3 | 3 | 79 |
| WR | Marcus Kennard | 6-4/205 | Butler County C.C. (El Dorado, KS) | 4 | 5.8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| WR | Jakeem Grant | 5-7/157 | Horn (Mesquite, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 75 |
| TE | Jace Amaro | 6-5/237 | MacArthur (San Antonio, TX) | 4 | 5.9 | 4 | 3 | 78 |
| OL | Tony Morales | 6-4/300 | Sam Houston (Arlington, TX) | 4 | 5.8 | 3 | 3 | 78 |
| OL | Alfredo Morales | 6-3/287 | Sam Houston (Arlington, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 76 |
| OL | Le'Raven Clark | 6-6/245 | Rockdale (Rockdale, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 79 |
| DL | James Castleman | 6-4/255 | Amarillo (Amarillo, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 4 | 3 | 77 |
| DL | Dennell Wesley | 6-3/315 | Butler County C.C. (El Dorado, KS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DE | Kindred Evans | 6-6/215 | South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 75 |
| LB | Terrell Hartsfield | 6-4/215 | Hargrave MA (Chatham, VA) | 4 | 5.8 | 3 | 2 | 74 |
| LB | Blake Dees | 6-0/234 | Spanish Fort (Spanish Fort, AL) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 2 | 73 |
| LB | Sam Eguavoen | 6-2/220 | Lakeview Centennial (Garland, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 2 | 3 | 75 |
| LB | Justin Cooper | 6-1/205 | University School of Nova South (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) | 3 | 5.5 | 0 | 2 | 74 |
| DB | Freddie Warner | 5-9/170 | L.G. Pinkston (Dallas, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 76 |
| CB | Jeremy Reynolds | 5-9/166 | Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, NC) | 3 | 5.5 | 2 | 3 | 77 |
| ATH | Ronnie Daniels | 6-1/195 | La Cueva (Albuquerque, NM) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 76 |
| ATH | LaDarrin Robertson | 6-3/215 | Longview (Longview, TX) | 3 | 5.5 | 3 | 3 | 77 |
| ATH | DeAndre Washington | 5-9/183 | Marshall (Missouri City, TX) | 3 | 5.7 | 3 | 3 | 78 |
| ATH | J.J. Gaines | 5-11/175 | Irving Nimitz (Irving, TX) | 3 | 5.6 | 3 | 3 | 77 |
| Averages | 3.13 | 5.41 | 2.83 | 2.70 | 70.04 |