After receiving an offer from Florida State earlier in the year, Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna athlete Derrek Cooper visited the Seminoles to watch the Seminole Showcase. Following the showcase, Cooper said that Florida State was the top school in his highly contested recruitment.
A little over a month later, Cooper returned to work out at the first individual camp held by Florida State on Sunday. It may not have been long since his last visit to campus but the Seminoles are still the team to beat for Cooper.
"Florida State is my top one. They are my top pick right now," Cooper said on why he decided to camp with FSU on Sunday.
It continues to be the relationships with the coaches that have given Florida State an early leg up in Cooper's recruitment. Since offering Cooper in February, the coaching staff has kept in frequent contact with the four-star.
"I think Coach Norvell is my main guy," Cooper said smiling. "I just love his excitement and his energy levels. He had us running around the field. He had me tired and I looked at him and he wasn't even breathing heavy."
Though many think that he may end up at running back in college, Cooper plays multiple positions for Chaminade. As such, he worked out with a bunch of different position groups on Sunday.
"It's fun being competitive. I play for Chaminade so it's very competitive (there). Translating it out here, it was amazing," Cooper said.
With Florida State being the current leader, what was it like for Cooper to receive actual coaching from his front-runner?
"They (the staff) had some criticisms. I love criticism though because it makes my game better, so that was one of the things," Cooper said.
"Coach YAC's coaching style is amazing," Cooper then added. "You know he is from New Orleans, so he has a little bit of an accent when he says something. I was trying not to laugh but yeah, his coach style is amazing."
Cooper also got to spend time with current Florida State athletes, including redshirt freshman defensive back Edwin Joseph, who also played at Chaminade Madonna.
"I asked him (Joseph) if he likes Florida State and he says he loves it. He's going to get more playing time this year so I'm looking forward to that," Cooper said.
Cooper has visited Florida State's campus multiple times in his recruiting process but said the one thing that he has yet to experience is a game at Doak Campbell Stadium. It is undoubtedly something that he will get to experience in just a few months. Miami, LSU, Georgia, and Ohio State were other schools specifically named by Cooper that are involved in his recruitment but for now, Florida State continues to be the favorite.
