Missouri four-star wideout Mookie Cooper announced via Twitter that he has committed to Ohio State.
Time to live my dreams #COMMITTED ✌Thank YOU GOD @riofilmgod pic.twitter.com/TXtGaoeB2w
— M5’ (@uheardof5) July 8, 2019
Cooper picked the Buckeyes out of a group that included Texas, Miami and Illinois. He had been committed to Texas but decommitted in March to be sure he made "the right decision."
The Cooper File
- Class: 2020
- Size: 5-foot-8/193 lbs.
- Pos: WR
- School: Trinity Catholic (St. Louis, Missouri)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: 11 (WR)
Cooper's recruitment came down to Illinois and Ohio State. Illinois is essentially the home school for players coming out of Trinity Catholic, a high school in St. Louis. Two of his teammates signed with Illinois in 2019, and the school is just over two hours away from his hometown.
Ohio State had a spot left for Cooper, though, and Hartline and the three wide receiver commits hit him hard in recruiting. At the Rivals 5-Star Challenge and The Opening Finals, Jack Miller and the receivers wouldn't let him go far without their company. The Buckeyes' recruitment efforts for Cooper ramped up in early-spring.
Cooper was in Columbus for a visit in May and enjoyed the facilities but really enjoyed film study with Hartline, who showed him that not only does Ohio State have a spot for him in their 2020 class but that the Buckeyes already run a similar style out of slot that he runs in high school. The transition would be nearly seamless.
“I love the facilities. I loved all that. Coach Hartline is a really good coach,” Cooper told Eleven Warriors at The Opening on July 3. “What I really took from it was when they broke down my film form high school and they showed me how they use their slots. They do some of the exact same plays I ran in high school.”
He has shown the tools needed at slot, such as separation, shiftiness and the ability to make tough catches, which made him a top target of Ohio State.
| NAME | POSITION | OVERALL RANKING | POSITION RANKING | DATE OF COMMITTMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PARIS JOHNSON JR. | OT | No. 8 | No. 1 | JUNE 28, 2018 |
| JACK MILLER | QB | No. 71 | No. 2 (PRO-STYLE) | JULY 1, 2018 |
| LUKE WYPLER | C | No. 61 | No. 1 | JULY 7, 2018 |
| JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA | WR | No. 89 | No. 18 | NOVEMBER 4, 2018 |
| GEE SCOTT JR. | WR | No. 66 | No. 13 | DECEMBER 25, 2018 |
| JAKOB JAMES | OG | No. 792 | No. 69 (OT) | JANUARY 21, 2019 |
| TREY LEROUX | OT | No. 1,082 | No. 93 | MARCH 11, 2019 |
| LEJOND CAVAZOS | CB | No. 251 | No. 20 (S) | APRIL 12, 2019 |
| JULIAN FLEMING | WR | No. 5 | No. 1 | MAY 31, 2019 |
| JAKE SEIBERT | K | N/A | No. 2 | JUNE 4, 2019 |
| GRANT TOUTANT | OT | No. 384 | No. 32 | JUNE 9, 2019 |
| TY HAMILTON | DE | No. 779 | No. 39 (SDE) | JUNE 16, 2019 |
| CLARK PHILLIPS | CB | No. 46 | No. 4 | JUNE 21, 2019 |
| CODY SIMON | LB | No. 153 | No. 10 (OLB) | JUNE 29, 2019 |
| DARRION HENRY | DT | No. 121 | No. 11 | JUNE 29, 2019 |
| JOE ROYER | TE | No. 454 | No. 12 | JULY 2, 2019 |
| MITCHELL MELTON | LB | No. 656 | No. 43 (OLB) | JULY 3, 2019 |
| CAMERON MARTINEZ | ATH | No. 370 | No. 21 | JULY 4, 2019 |
| JOSH FRYAR | OL | No. 414 | No. 22 (OG) | JULY 4, 2019 |
| MOOKIE COOPER | WR | No. 64 | No. 11 | JULY 8, 2019 |
With the addition of Cooper, the Buckeyes now have four top-100 overall wide receivers committed in their 2020 recruiting class and eight top-100 commits. The rest of the Big Ten combined has five top-100 commits.
