Catching Up With Cooper

Three-star wide receiver Marcus Cooper has been spending his summer working with children at a local recreation center, teaching them different sports, games and helping them develop social skills. He claims the goal is to just help them have fun, but it is Cooper who has also taken some time out for recreation with two camp stops this summer.

Marcus Cooper still holds the same four offers from Buffalo, Delaware, Temple and Troy that he did a month ago, however his talent level is certainly high enough to earn him many more in the future. The problem at this point for Cooper seems to be academics as he currently carries a 2.35 core GPA that he will work hard to improve this fall. If he can continue to improve his academic situation this fall at Bloomfield High School, Cooper could see offers pour in from other programs.

“I went to camp at Iowa and Rutgers and am schedule to go down and camp at Delaware later this month,” Cooper stated. “Boston College, Connecticut, Troy, Buffalo and Temple have also been in contact with me as well. I receive mail from a lot of other schools as well, but those are the ones that I think are most serious at this point.”

“I was out at Iowa for camp just a few weeks ago and they said they have me at the top of their board at receiver after my performance there,” Cooper said. “They told me they just wanted to see my first few games of the season and were pretty certain they would be offering me at that point. I liked the stadium and campus a lot and got a really good vibe from the coaching staff while I was there. Coach (Ken) O’Keefe recruits me and is a pretty cool guy and I would love the opportunity to go out there and play football for Iowa.”

“Rutgers camp also went well and I could definitely see myself playing for them in college. I liked the stadium a lot and they are adding more seating to it to fit more fans in which is great because they already have such a good vibe coming from that program after last season. Coach (Darren) Rizzi said that he liked how I used my hands to shed at the line of scrimmage and liked my speed and ability to get open. He said we would need to talk in late July to see where I stand with them in terms of a scholarship.”

“Connecticut has not been in contact with me as much as they used to be and I am not really sure why that is,” Cooper explained. “Coach (Matt) Cersosimo is a cool person who I could definitely see myself being coached by and like I have said, I was at every home game last season, but after telling me I was one of their top wide receiver prospects I just haven’t heard much lately. If they were to offer they would definitely be one of my top schools, but I am not sure how interested they are anymore.”

As a junior the Bloomfield, Conn., standout caught 62 passes for 1100 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was named first team All-State by both the Hartford Courant and Coaches Association and currently holds the Connecticut State record for most consecutive games played with a receiving touchdown at 13.