East-West Shrine Bowl: Slippery Rock’s Joe Cooper takes advantage of chance in front of NFL scouts
Joe Cooper was in a rush.
A late addition to the East-West Shrine Bowl, the now-former Slippery Rock University left tackle only had so much time to shove what he needed into a carry-on and fly to Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 21.
“Honestly, I just threw whatever I had in my bag,” Cooper said. “Our equipment guy sent my football stuff down, overnighted it through the post office, so all I had to do was pack just some leisure clothes. I just threw a bunch of stuff in my duffel bag and drove to the airport.”
The lineman, whose locks coil past his shoulders, forgot just one thing.
“My hair products, so I had to use the ones the hotel offered,” Cooper said.
During the week in Texas, NFL scouts were almost certainly more focused on the 6-foot-7, 320-pounder’s stature and adjustment skills — he slid to guard at the annual college all-star game — than what shampoo he was using.
Cooper started 38 games for The Rock and was a finalist for the Upshaw Award, which goes to the top senior or graduate student lineman in Division II, this past season. Cooper was also the only Division II player to attend the Shrine Bowl.
He was training in Atlanta the day he was invited, which meant he missed the first day of activities.
“I was just happy to have the opportunity to go out there and compete with some of the best of the best, and kinda put my name on the map a little bit more than it already was,” Cooper said.
He sat in on meetings and seminars Thursday before starting three straight days of practices Friday. He got to show his abilities as his West team beat the East 21-17 Tuesday night.
SRU head coach Shawn Lutz said he was tuned in for every snap.
“He was really aggressive in the run game, he was good in pass protection,” Lutz said. “I’m just really proud of him, because that’s (one of) the two biggest all-star games. That’s been around forever.”
“I just go in there and play football,” Cooper said. “I’ve been playing football since I was 3 years old, so it’s no different. There was a little speed adjustment after the first practice, but I gradually got better with it. Everyone’s obviously gonna be bigger, faster than Division II, but Division II doesn’t have slouches, either.”
As is tradition, Cooper exchanged helmet stickers with other attendees. Logos from Buffalo, Duke, Georgia Tech, Memphis, N.C. State, SMU, Texas Tech, Wake Forest and a wordmark from Iowa State splattered across his helmet, which also included the green “S.”
Somewhat ironically, other programs wanted him to enter the transfer portal to wear a different insignia after the 2024 season. Cooper wasn’t interested.
“Slippery Rock invested in a raw product out of high school when these Power Four programs didn’t have interest in me,” Cooper said. “Slippery Rock invested hours of their time and their care to develop me into the man I am today, and the football player I am today.
“All these other schools just wanted to buy me for some money. It didn’t line up with my values.”
Lutz credited offensive line coach Chris Conrad with molding Cooper and “making him the best in Division II.”
Cooper hopes to be able to represent the school he stayed loyal to on the next level, much like Brandon Fusco, a fellow Rock offensive lineman who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft and enjoyed an eight-year career.
“I understand the reality of it, and it’s a far cry from where I’m at right now,” Cooper said. “I’ve gotta continue to work hard and perform well at a pro day to even get close to that. But it would be really cool. ... Things will take care of (themselves).”
