Reggie Cooper Season 1987

Honors & Awards

• Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Inductee (2013)
• Thorpe Award Finalist (1989)
• Second-Team All-American (AP, Football News, 1989)
• First-Team All-Big Eight (AP, UPI, Coaches, 1989, 1990)
• Second-Team All-Big Eight (AP, Coaches, 1988)
• Big Eight Defensive Player of the Week (vs. Missouri, 1989)
• Nebraska Team Captain (1990)
• Japan Bowl Senior All-Star Game (1990)
• One NFL Season (Dallas Cowboys, 1991)

1990 (Senior)
One of four team captains selected by his teammates ahead of the 1990 season, Reggie Cooper was a first-team All-Big Eight performer at strong safety for the second consecutive season in his third year as a starter for the Blackshirts. Cooper totaled 71 tackles, including 36 solos, while registering three tackles for loss (five yards). He also posted five pass breakups and a quarterback hurry, while causing one fumble. He started all 11 regular-season games and Nebraska’s battle with Georgia Tech in the 1991 Florida Citrus Bowl, when he totaled eight tackles (5 solos). Cooper helped the Huskers rank seventh nationally in scoring defense (13.4 ppg) and total defense (263.5 ypg) in 1990. He was Nebraska’s nominee for Big Eight Defensive Player of the Week after wins over Northern Illinois and Missouri.

A four-year letterwinner, Cooper played 43 regular-season games with 33 starts and three more starts in four bowl games for the Big Red. He totaled 195 tackles (117 solos), including 16 TFLs (49 yards). He added 17 pass breakups, five interceptions and five quarterback hurries while contributing three fumble recoveries as one of the nation’s premier defensive playmakers.

Cooper competed in the Japan Bowl following his senior season. He signed an NFL contract as an undrafted free agent and played two games for the Dallas Cowboys as a linebacker in his lone season in the NFL in 1991. Cooper was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

1989 (Junior)
A second-team All-American and a Thorpe Award finalist as a junior strong safety, Cooper earned first-team All-Big Eight honors in 1989. Cooper led the Big Eight with four interceptions over his 10 games as a starter. He missed the late-season win over Kansas and was limited as a non-starter against Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl but still had two tackles for five yards lost. Cooper’s All-America-level production came despite playing nearly the entire 1989 season with cartilage damage in his left knee suffered in the season opener against Northern Illinois. He had arthroscopic knee surgery after the Oklahoma game to end the regular season. Cooper ranked second among the Huskers with 59 total tackles, including a team-leading 38 solos, while recording five tackles for nine yards lost. He added five pass breakups and recovered one fumble. Cooper recorded a career-high 11 tackles (eight solos) against Utah, before closing the regular season with 10 tackles against Oklahoma. He added nine tackles against Iowa State and led NU with stops against Missouri, when he also recovered a blocked punt (by Mike Croel) for his first career touchdown (17-yard return). His effort at Missouri earned him Big Eight Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors.

1988 (Sophomore)
In his first season as a starter, Cooper led the NU secondary and ranked third overall among the Blackshirts with 58 tackles, including 37 solos, while notching eight TFLs (35 yards). He hauled in his first career interception and recovered two fumbles as an explosive playmaker at the strong safety spot for the Blackshirts. He added four pass breakups and four quarterback hurries. He led Nebraska with a season-high 10 tackles in Nebraska’s 63-42 win over Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders and Oklahoma State. Cooper also had eight tackles in his first career start in the season-opening win over Texas A&M in the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J. Cooper started every regular-season game for the Huskers and the Orange Bowl against Miami for the Big Eight champions. He recorded four unassisted tackles against the Hurricanes. He helped the Big Red rank sixth nationally in passing defense (134.8 ypg) and seventh in total defense (262.8 ypg).

1987 (Freshman)
Cooper moved up to the varsity shortly after arriving on campus in August. He earned his first varsity letter by playing in all but one game (UCLA) as a reserve behind seniors Brian Washington and Jeff Tomjack. Cooper finished with seven tackles and three pass breakups. He added an unassisted tackle in the 1988 Fiesta Bowl.

Slidell High School
A high school All-American for Coach Wayne Grubbs, Cooper was the Louisiana defensive player of the year as a senior in 1986 after leading Slidell High School to the state championship game. Cooper finished his senior year with 87 tackles, including 52 solos, while recording four sacks, three fumble recoveries and one interception over nine games. Slidell retired his No. 2 jersey following the season. He was also a standout in basketball and track for Slidell.

Personal
The son of Mr. and Mrs. John Cooper, Reggie was born in Bogalusa, La. He was a general studies major at Nebraska.