Jonathon Cooper was all smiles following a strong showing at Friday Night Lights. He tried to contain his excitement as he announced that Ohio State had offered him a scholarship offer.
"I was kind of surprised, I mean I knew I did a really good job at the camp. Overall I'm just really excited to get an offered."
The 4-star linebacker/defensive end from Gahanna also holds offers from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Toledo. He's also ranked as the nation's 15th-best defensive end in the 247Sports Composite.
It's been quite a ride for Cooper over the last few months. We first spoke to him back in February after he had landed his first offers from Illinois and Kentucky, following a strong showing at the 'Best of the Midwest' combine. Since then, he has visited Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State, while picking up a couple of additional offers along the way.
Cooper impressed the Ohio State staff at the June 8th camp, when he won the defensive line "smokehouse" race. Building on that strong camp showing, Cooper was great at Friday Night Lights and earned the scholarship he'd been working hard for.
Continuing with a a theme from many of the prospects, the atmosphere really impressed Cooper. "It was great," he said. "The atmosphere and all the people, going against the best of the best. Really a great experience."
One of the great things about an event like Friday Night Lights and all of these camps is the opportunity for the prospects to be coached by the Ohio State staff. For Cooper, it was an experience that he'll remember for a long time.
"You can see it in their eyes how much they care about Ohio State and that gets you to be a better play too. The feeling of being coached by them is really great. I like the coaches, I like coach Johnson, I like coach Fickell and just being with them is a great feeling."
Despite all of the excitement and multiple commitments, Cooper decided not to pull the trigger last night.
"I did not commit," he said. "I'm going to take my time on it still. It's great that they offered me and everything, but I still want to take my time." He went on to say that he is looking to make a decision some time between his junior and senior seasons.
The Buckeyes offered and are recruiting Cooper as a defensive end, which he says is "great." He also worked out at linebacker last night, proving himself to be very capable at either position.
Cooper said that Ohio State is in a "good situation" with him after offering. Michigan will likely offer him soon as well, but the Buckeyes have established themselves as the favorite to land Jonathon Cooper, one of midwest's best 2016 prospects.
