Jon Cooper (born October 1, 1986) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach and former player. He is the

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s coach for

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

, a position he has held since 2024. He played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

as a center. He played

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and was signed by the Vikings in 2009.

Early life

Cooper attended Fort Collins High School in

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The population was 169,810 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an i ...

, where he was a three-year starter and

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

. He captured team MVP honors his senior season and was named Offensive Player of the Year in the Front Range Conference.

College career

Cooper joined the

Oklahoma Sooners football The Oklahoma Sooners football team represents the University of Oklahoma (OU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The program began in 1895 and is one of the most succ ...

team in 2005. He played in eleven games, starting two, for the team as a freshman. In his second start, he suffered a dislocation and break in his right ankle at Texas Tech and missed the remainder of the season. Was one of the most solid true freshmen on the team after posting no penalties and a high passing grade of 83% in OU's stringent grading process. Was named the starting center his sophomore season in 2006 and posted the second highest grade on the team, with a 79% success rate. Cooper notched 125 knockdown blocks during the course of the season, including 18 against

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. Cooper led one of the nation's best offensive lines in 2007, starting all 14 games and logging team highs with 798 plays and 136 knockdowns. He had 16 knockdowns against Miami and 15 against Texas A&M, with a final grade of 81% for the season.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Cooper signed a rookie contract with the

. He appeared in his first NFL game in week 13 against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

at right guard after two additional injuries to the offensive line.

Tennessee Titans

Cooper was signed as a free agent by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

on April 13, 2012. He retired from the NFL on August 27, 2012.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from the NFL, Cooper joined the coaching staff at

as a graduate assistant. In 2016, Cooper joined the staff at

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

as an offensive analyst. He was named the tight ends coach at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in 2020.

Personal

Cooper majored in Finance while at Oklahoma. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, and snow skiing. His father Tom played college football for Missouri from 1972 to 1975.

References

External links

*
Arkansas Razorbacks bioCombine profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jon 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Fort Collins, Colorado American football centers Players of American football from Colorado Oklahoma Sooners football players UCF Knights football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches Minnesota Vikings players Oklahoma Sooners football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches Western Carolina Catamounts football coaches North Texas Mean Green football coaches Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Coaches of American football from Colorado Tennessee Titans players