Florida DB has surprise leader
Junior to Watch: Jesse Cooper
School: Miami (Fla.) Palmetto HS
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Position: Safety
Size and speed: Cooper is 5-foot-11, weighs 185 pounds, and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.
Statistics: He recorded 80 tackles and one interception as a junior.
Honors: Was named all-region as a junior.
Favorite Schools: Duke, Florida, Miami, Florida State, Vanderbilt, Stanford, North Carolina, Ohio State.
Skinny: There’s a surprise leader for one of the Sunshine State’s top safety prospects.
Miami Palmetto’s Jesse Cooper is eagerly awaiting an offer from the Duke Blue Devils.
“He’s been getting a lot of interest from people like Miami, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State and some other big-time programs,” Palmetto coach Jim Kroll said. “But the kid wants to go to Duke. He really likes their school and the idea of playing football there. If they offer, I think he’ll grab it.”
Not surprisingly, Cooper is an outstanding student. He maintains a 4.1 GPA in advanced classes, has scored a 1020 on the SAT and a 24 on the ACT.
Stanford and Vanderbilt have also taken notice and shown heavy interest.
“He’s got great work ethic, on and off the field,” Kroll said. “It’s obvious with his GPA and those scores on his tests. But he puts that same effort into football, especially in the weight room. He’s a real muscular kid. He benches about 275 pounds and squats 400.
“He played outside linebacker for us last year, but he’s going to move to strong safety this season. That’s going to be his spot in college. He’s very quick and has a nose for the football. If he’s not the primary tackler, he’s usually in there with an assist.”