Four-star athlete Derrek Cooper selected his top ten schools tonight and the Indiana Hoosiers football program missed the cut.
Cooper named Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State and Texas A&M as his final schools.
The Lauderhill (FL) native from Chaminade-Madonna in Fort Lauderdale was offered by Indiana late last year and IU has done well in the state of Florida recently but was out of range for the skilled Cooper.
What’s the move?? 👀👀 https://t.co/IGYDxCVoxa
— Derrek Cooper (@DerrekCooper80) January 22, 2025
Cooper is ranked as the No. 23 prospect nationally and the No. 3 athlete in the 247Sports composite rankings. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder is also ranked as the No. 3 recruit out of Florida.
The Florida native has played safety, linebacker, and running back during his high school career. He’s made 95 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, five interceptions, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries on defense over the last two seasons.
On offense Cooper ran for 905 yards (7.3 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns in 2024. He also added 156 receiving yards and another score, plus he had 107 kick return yards last season.
“When I commit, it will be about how I will be used, how the relationships are between my family and the coaches are and the stability of the coaching staff,” Cooper told On3's Chad Simmons. “The fit into the scheme will be important to me too. I want the chance to get on the field and show my ability as quickly as I can.”
Indiana still needs a running back or two for the 2026 class and that's why other top RB's in the class such as CJ Givers, Favour Akih and Kimauri Farmer will be huge recruiting targets upcoming.