Cooper connects on two visits
Clearwater (Fla.) Catholic four-star athlete Riley Cooper already is known as one of the top two-sport athletes in the nation. Not only is he ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's No. 6 athlete, he was also recently recognized by Baseball America as the No. 6 amateur draft prospect available in next year's draft.
That alone will make it a difficult decision as to what his future holds, but his father, Larry Cooper, said things will be even more difficult when you talk about all the different options the college football programs present him.
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"What that ranking in Baseball America means is that Riley will likely be drafted in the first half of the first-round now," his father said.
If that happens, Cooper likely will have a monster contract offer on the table and he'll have to come up with the final decision between playing football and baseball in college or going straight to the pros on the diamond.
To help better make the decision, Cooper is going to take official visits to colleges and several schools have already been lined up on the docket. Cooper will first visit Florida on September 16, the weekend the Gators play host to Tennessee. He then will visit Oklahoma State on September 30, the weekend the Cowboys face Colorado.
"We're talking to Tennessee and Texas about our dates, and we're also talking to Auburn about a visit," Cooper said.
The talk about Auburn likely means the Tigers are back on the list after late last month, Cooper said his son had narrowed his choices to Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Texas.