ISU cornerback Jeremiah Cooper shifts into coach mode after suffering season-ending injury

AMES — Iowa State cornerback Jeremiah Cooper will undergo surgery on Monday to repair turn ligaments in his knee.

But on Saturday night, the standout four-year starter stood on the sidelines in sweatpants, coaching up his teammates as they dispatched Arizona, 39-14, before a sold-out crowd of 61,500 at Jack Trice Stadium.

Cooper didn’t sulk, simmer nor feel sorry himself. He helped the 14th-ranked Cyclones (5-0, 0-2) the only way he could — as an injured but respected captain who’s earned all-Big 12 accolades three seasons in a row.

“Coop’s really tough and it stinks when you lose a captain and a guy who everybody has o much respect for,” said ISU head coach Matt Campbell, whose team is 5-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. “But the reality of it is, man, I saw him on the field coaching tonight. I saw him (Friday) night in the hotel coaching our guys.”

Fellow Cyclone Caleb Bacon can relate. The former walk-on linebacker suffered a season-ending injury in last season’s opener and grew as a leader while he rehabilitated from surgery.

“I know that he hasn’t been the most vocal guy in the past, but now even when he’s been out this this last week, I’ve seen him ramp that up,” said Bacon, ISU’s leading tackler on Saturday with eight stops. “Even out in practice (and) that’s really awesome to see out of him — taking that leadership role. A lot of props to him for not being able to play in the game but still making an impact tonight.”

Cooper saw secondary mates Jontez Williams and Jamison Patton each record an interception for the Cyclones, who built a 22-7 halftime lead and expanded it from there. Former transfer Tre Bell saw his action grow significantly against the Wildcats and he made one huge play on an early reverse that could have extended a promising opening drive. Backup corner Quentin Taylor also saw his snap count increase and he’ll be leaned on in Cooper’s absence, as well.

“(Bell’s) earned the right to be an ‘A’ player, right?” Campbell said. “If you go back and watch the videtape, you could probably say nobody’s played as good a corner as Tre Bell’s been the first four games. So I think for Tre, you just say, ‘You keep doing what you’re doing.’ In terms of Quentin, he played about 30 snaps (two weeks ago) against Arkansas State and he played pretty good. And, again, he’s earned the right to get on the field, and your role’s gonna expand now and you’ve gotta be ready to step up in the moment.”

Campbell is convinced those players and several others are prepare to shine as the lights brighten and the glare of the spotlight can be blinding. Next up: A tough road game next Saturday at Cincinnati (3-1, 1-0). The Bearcats’ lone loss this season — a 20-17 nail biter in the season opener against Nebraska — came at home, but they’re coming off a comeback 37-34 road win at Kansas and appears poised to turn a corner in league play.

“If we want to be a great team — great teams have the ability to finish,” Campbell said. “We’ll have to keep working.”

And growing, even without Cooper in a secondary that’s performed well even as the injuries pile up.

“It’s a team game and in all three phases we want to play well for each other: Offense, defense and special teams,” Patton said. “We want to play complementary football and I feel like we did that at times (on Saturday).”

That, of course, must continue at Cincinnati and at Colorado the following week. If the Cyclones can win those road games, they’ll be 7-0 for the second straight season — and primed to make another strong run at a conference title.

“A lot of work to do,” Campbell said. “And huge challenges on the horizon.”

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