Washington first to offer Oakland LB

Oakland (Calif.) Skyline has a handful of Div 1 prospects this year including athlete Andre Christian, who just received an offer from Nebraska and defensive end Michael Snead, younger brother of UCLA DL William Snead. Maybe the top player in the program next year will be linebacker Gavin Cooper who just received his first scholarship offer on Monday.

Cooper, 6-3, 220 pounds had a big junior season totaling 105 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions, including one he returned for a 70 yard touchdown. The 'backer earned 1st team all East Bay and 1st team all-city honors playing a combination of linebacker and defensive end but he projects best as a linebacker in college.

"Washington just offered yesterday," Skyline coach Kevin Evans said. "That came totally out of the blue because Washington hadn't even been sending any letters before the offer came in. Gavin has family in Seattle so he was excited about getting that first offer under his belt. He's a tremendous player and a natural born leader. Whether it's in the weight room or in our running drills, Gavin is always leading the team in everything we do.

"On the field, he has an incredible motor and is just relentless on the field. He has a great nose for the ball and is very smart. I think a few more schools are pretty close to offering as well."

Despite the offer from the Huskies, Cooper said he's leaning to leaving the West Coast to play college ball.

"I grew up a big Miami fan and love the Canes," Cooper said. "I also like Boston College a lot. I'm not sure why, I've just always liked BC. Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan are other schools I like in addition to Washington but I'm still open and want to go through the recruiting process."