Temple commit follows in dad's footsteps - literally

JIM COOPER JR., a 6-1, 205-pound senior from Mainland Regional High in Linwood, N.J., has gracefully followed in his father's footsteps by committing to Temple as the Owls' next kicker.

Coincidence? Cooper Jr. says it is.

"My dad had a big impact on me getting into football in general, but as far as actually committing to Temple, no. He was fine with me going anywhere," Cooper said. "Wherever I wanted to go, he would have supported me."

Jim Cooper Sr. also attended Mainland Regional and was Temple's kicker from 1984 to '87 under then-coach Bruce Arians. He currently is the kicking coach at Mainland, where he coached his son for 4 years.

"It was definitely interesting at times," Cooper Jr. said. "But my dad really knows what he is doing, so we never had any problems. You need to know that you're father and son, but once you step onto the football field, it immediately switches over to player/coach, and whatever he says, goes, because he's the coach."

"There's a very fine line when you coach your own son," Cooper Sr. said. "You have to try to make a delineation between being the coach and the father. Every once in a while, the father side creeps in so it's not easy. But it's very worthwhile, I can tell you that."

The duo must have done something right, because Cooper was highly successful under his father's guidance. In his senior season, Cooper hit seven of 11 field-goal attempts, including three in one game. He set the state record with 31 career field goals. The record was previously set in 1990 by Rob Juliano, of Lenape High.

"Anytime there's a student record on the line, it would be a lot of fun to break it," Cooper Jr. said. "But to be honest, I wasn't really sweating it. I just wanted us to win. I wanted us to go out on top as a graduating class and finish together as a winning team."

Cooper capped off his successful season by being invited to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 5 in San Antonio's Alamodome. The bowl features 90 of the nation's top high school senior football players.

"The game was just unbelievable," Cooper said. "I met a lot of outstanding athletes and made some friendships that I'm going to keep for the rest of my life."

Although Cooper verbally committed to Temple in June 2012, he initially had his heart set on playing at Boston College until Temple entered the competition late in his recruitment. Boston College heavily recruited Cooper after his freshman year.

He'll have some serious shoes to fill. Brandon McManus, the Owls' kicker the last four seasons, left as the program's all-time leading scorer.

"Once I saw Temple and what they were offering and the feeling I had, I didn't really want to look past that opportunity, and I thought it was best for me if I committed there," Cooper said. "I talked to some other schools after that and they asked me, 'Would you be willing to decommit from Temple and come here?' But I didn't really want to start playing that game. Once I committed to Temple, my mind was made up."

Mainland head coach Bob Coffey attributed Cooper's success to a strong work ethic and the constant support he offers to his teammates.

"He did a lot for us," Coffey said. "When he wasn't kicking in practice, he was helping our team get better. To coach a kid like that, it's just a pleasure."