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Slippery Rock’s Joe Cooper Proved He’s More Than a Sideshow at Shrine Bowl
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- Slippery Rock’s Joe Cooper Proved He’s More Than a Sideshow at Shrine Bowl
Joe Cooper. -- Slippery Rock Athletics
FRISCO, Texas —Standing out at a collegiate all-star game is not a bad thing. Heck, it's kind of the point. College football players from around the country gathered at Ford Center, the Dallas Cowboys ' practice facility, in late January, with the express purpose of standing out for NFL scouts.
There are different ways to stand out — strong play is probably the most desirable. But a player with an off-the-scale height or weight, elite speed or athleticism, or just a generally impressive physique can earn a few extra heads turned his way.
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Another way to stand out is to jump off the page of the roster. When you're the only player from a Division II school, like Slippery Rock offensive lineman Joe Cooper was, that's easy to do.
The white helmet with the green S on it looked out of place all week next to the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan. But Cooper? He looked right at home, turning that extra attention into some strong recommendations from scouts following the practice.
Slippery Rock offensive lineman Joe Cooper. — East-West Shrine Bowl
Cooper was one of the fastest risers from the Shrine Bowl, turning that Division II curiosity into a genuine advantage by the end of the week.
The thing about a player that starts at a lower level of football, in the eyes of NFL evaluators, has always been — why are they there? What was wrong with that player coming out of high school that those big-name schools passed on them?
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In the past, there's been a bit more forgiveness for linemen coming from small schools because some guys just take longer to get to size and the functional level of strength that it takes to become an effective lineman at the next level.
But in the age of the transfer portal, most of those guys abandon those first stops for greener pastures — and NIL money — along the way.
Cooper didn't have a ton of better options when he chose Slippery Rock while coming out of Class-3A Bermudian Springs High School in Adams County, Pennsylvania — not exactly a hotbed of NFL talent.
But after he got to Slippery Rock, Cooper made an interesting decision: he stayed. After redshirting in 2021 and playing sparingly in 2022, he became a starter in 2023 at right tackle, and he probably could have found a home at a higher level of football. After moving to left tackle and becoming a second-team All-American in 2024, he got Power Four interest, sources told Steelers Now.
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Instead, he returned to Slippery Rock for his redshirt senior season, earning consensus first-team All-America honors.
So not only did Cooper impress by not looking out of place with some heavy hitters from big-time schools, when scouts dug into his background, he demonstrated an almost-unbelievable loyalty to the Division-II school that put him on the map, and that's not going to do any harm to his draft stock, either.
"Slippery Rock valued me out of high school as a raw player, and then developed and put hours into me to make me who I am today," Cooper said to Steelers Now at the Shrine Bowl.
"I felt like these other schools were just trying to buy a product from Slippery Rock, and I felt I should stay loyal to the university and give them everything I had to try and win a national championship, because they poured countless hours into me to make me the man I am."
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Cooper hopes that after scouts get over the sticker shock — he's from where?! — they'll take in the total package and see what it all reveals about his character.
"It just shows my value for loyalty," he said. "That's one of my biggest values in life, is just being loyal."
For most of the rest of the players in the draft class, getting their name called at the 2026 NFL Draft outside Acrisure Stadium will be a culmination of a lifetime of hard work and one of the most special moments of their young lives. But it will primarily be about them.
For Cooper, it will be all of that, and also a chance to represent Slippery Rock alongside the highest levels of the sport.
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"I mean, that would be … I don't even know how to fathom that day," Cooper said. "Right now, I'm just going to keep my head down and keep doing everything I can to make that a reality. But for the university itself, it just keeps putting the university on the pedestal that it belongs on.
"To me, it's the greatest place on earth."
TALE OF THE TAPE
Measured at the East-West Shrine Bowl:6-foot-6, 330 pounds, 10 1/4-inch hands, 31 5/8-inch arms, 82 1/4-inch wingspan
JOE COOPER COLLEGE CAREER OVERVIEW
When talking about linemen who made the most of their situation, Joe Cooper is no exception, as it is hard to find many tackles with more decorated careers than his.
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The 6-foot-6 tackle began his career at Slippery Rock as a redshirt freshman, appearing in five games for an offense that ranked top 10 in the PSAC in multiple statistical categories, including rushing, passing, and scoring. That early exposure was just the beginning.
The following season, Cooper started all 14 games and earned All-PSAC honors, once again playing a key role in a highly productive Slippery Rock offense. As a redshirt junior in 2024, he elevated his game even further, earning First Team All-D2CCA All-Region honors, Second Team AP All-American honors, and Second Team D2CCA All-American recognition.
His redshirt senior season came with lofty expectations, and he delivered. Cooper was named a consensus All-American by the AP, AFCA, D2CCA, Walter Camp Football, and Don Hansen Football. He also collected All-PSAC West and D2CCA All-Region accolades, was named to the East-West Shrine Bowl watchlist, and finished as an Upshaw Award finalist
By Joe Fitzgerald
Joe Cooper. — Slippery Rock Athletics
JOE COOPER SCOUTING REPORT
A potential diamond in the rough who projects as a guard in the NFL stands at 6-foot-6 tall and weighing 330 pounds.
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Plays with good pad level for his size, and gets into a great position in which he cannot get bull rushed from. Usually the first to move getting off the ball, he gets into a great stance for pass protection. He can be susceptible to speed rush. Cooper is so quick to get into his pass pro set that he can overset, and not be quick enough to recover on smaller quicker defenders.
In the run game he is able to move defensive linemen off of their spot, and can wall off defenders creating lanes for running backs. He is a slow mover on screens and when pulling and needs to work on fighting to finish more on run blocks.
Cooper will have an uphill battle from going to Division-II to NFL defenders.
By Adam Echols
WHERE WILL JOE COOPER BE DRAFTED?
As of Feb. 11, Cooper is No. 355 on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board, which projects him to be an undrafted free agent. He has recently been ranked as high as No. 315, and as low as No. 369, which would both be undrafted.
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SN Projection: Priority undrafted free agent
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Slippery Rock's Joe Cooper Proved He's More Than a Sideshow at Shrine Bowl
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