Learn and Grow: Cooper Jr. Eyes Receiver Breakthrough
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The breakthrough is coming. You sense that, anticipate that, when Omar Cooper Jr. runs his Indiana football practice routes.
The redshirt sophomore receiver makes contested catches, makes the kind of plays that make a difference in practice and in games. It’s important at any time, especially as the
Hoosiers prepare for their Aug. 31 season opener against Florida International.
Cooper Jr. is ready to make the next step, ready to progress from a guy who didn’t catch a pass as a true freshman in 2022 to one who caught 18 last season to, perhaps, a go-to performer the rest of the way.
What will it take?
“I think my confidence,” Cooper Jr. says. “Last year, at first I wasn't playing as much so my confidence got pretty low. This spring, I was focusing on that and trying to get better with that each and every day. That's something that will help me with my role and just playing as hard as I can.”
Offensive coordinator/receivers coach Mike Shanahan pushes to ensure Cooper Jr. plays hard all the time.
"He's a guy who I just kind of try to keep my thumb on and want to make sure that he's doing every little detail right,” Shanahan says. “He really responds to that. He does a good job, for the most part, when the ball comes his way in making the play."
Cooper Jr. showed flashes of potential last season, when he caught those 18 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns in nine games. His 14.8-yards per catch average ranked second on the team to Cam Camper’s 16.8.
For perspective, seven of those catches and 101 of those yards came against Indiana State.
Still, there’s a lot to work with given Cooper Jr. was once a four-star prospect coming out of Indianapolis Lawrence North School who totaled 132 catches for 2,856 yards and 22 touchdowns in his career.
A strong August camp suggests he’s ready for that breakthrough.
“Coop's done a good job and has put some good days together,” Shanahan says. “He's a guy that has a lot of ability. He has great hands, good body control. I've moved him around to a few different positions, and that's accelerated his learning a little bit. And I think in the long run, that's going to help him out."
When Shanahan isn’t coaching Cooper Jr. hard, head coach Curt Cignetti is.
“The other day I ran a route, and didn’t take it high enough,” Cooper Jr. says. “(Cignetti) pulled me to the side and told me I was supposed to learn it and that he expects better.”
That’s among the ways Cignetti builds relationships with his players.
“Off the field, he’ll come into the locker room, and if he sees us, he’ll have a little conversation and try to put a smile on our faces,” Cooper Jr. says. “On the field, it’s tough-love coaching, but at the end of the day he’ll come back to you and let you know if he’s happy about what you did. He’s trying to progressively get closer to us.”
Cooper Jr. says he has adjusted to having a different receivers coach in each of his three Hoosier seasons.
“There's some positives and some negatives,” he says. “A negative is they all have different personalities, so you don't know what to expect. The positive is you get a lot of different knowledge from coaches from different levels, some from the league, some from anywhere and some played (themselves). It works out really well just because you'll learn and grow. They all know different stuff and they can help you add to your game.”
Cooper Jr. is part of a deep and talented receiver group that Shanahan will fully utilize. Lots of guys will play, few will monopolize playing time. Cooper Jr. is fine with that.
“I don't think that’s anything that's difficult,” he says. “I think it helps us because we can all just stay fresh and continue to rotate and help us be better at our game.
“When it comes to the plays, it's basically we're just flipping sides. It's not as difficult as it may seem, but I think it will be good for our offense and help us be really successful.”
For Shanahan and Cignetti, it’s all about maximizing their receiving talent.
“There’s only one ball to go around,” Shanahan says. “They all want to make plays. We’ll do our best to create roles and do our best to put certain guys in there for some things when we call a play.
“We’ll be able to roll guys. Instead of having them play 70 to 75 plays in a game, they won’t have to do that. Probably 45 to 50 plays will be their top level. In the long run, it will work itself out.”
With the addition of transfer portal offensive standouts, the offense is set to take a big jump. Cooper Jr. says the group has put in the time.
“Throughout the summer,” he says, “all offensive skill guys were working out at the same time. That helped us become closer. Going through all the hard work made us closer. You see how hard everyone is working to get where we want to be.”