68 Days To K-State Football: William Cooper Player Preview

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

For our next installment of our 100 day countdown to the Wildcats’ kick-off against North Dakota State University in August, our focus turns to William Cooper, a senior offensive lineman from Hayti, MO. Cooper, who redshirted in 2009 before serving primarily as a practice squad member the past three years, will should back up OT Tavon Rooks in 2013.

Cooper was a lightly recruited prep player, playing Class 1 football in Missouri – the type of small town, overlooked player Snyder thrives on developing into quality producers. He was an All-State First Team player in the division and an all-region selection in high school. Standing at 6’4″ and 280 lbs, Cooper  was a two star athlete that also garnered interest from KU and Missouri before settling on K-State.

Cooper came to Manhattan at 250 pounds and has not bulked up considerably over the past four years – I have a lot of friends that put on more than 30 pounds during their time in college. However, he’s extremely athletic and is a more than capable backup at tackle – particularly if Daniel Sams wins the starting quarterback position and needs a quick lineman capable of blocking in space. In addition, Cooper is a solid student. The valedictorian of his high school, he carried a 3.96 GPA before matriculating to K-State. William Cooper will not be a star on the national or even conference level, but he’s a solid student-athlete that Wildcat fans are lucky to have the privilege of rooting for on Saturdays this season.