At San Diego State
- Hunkie Cooper enters his eighth season overseeing the wide receiver position at San Diego State.
- Upon his arrival on The Mesa, Cooper reunited with his college coach Jeff Horton. Horton, SDSU’s associate head coach/offensive coordinator/running backs coach, was Cooper’s head coach at UNLV.
- Over his last four games of the Aztecs’ historic 2021 campaign, Jesse Matthews continued to flourish under Cooper’s guidance, posting 37 catches for 465 yards and seven touchdowns, punctuated by a Most Valuable Offensive Player performance in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl, where he posted career highs of 11 receptions and 175 yards to go with two touchdowns.
- Matthews finished eighth in the Mountain West with a collegiate-best 57 catches for 642 yards and nine touchdowns overall last season. His nine receiving touchdowns were tied for 31st nationally and marked the most by an SDSU player since Vincent Brown’s 10 in 2010.
- During an abbreviated schedule in 2020, Matthews led the Aztecs in receptions (24), receiving yards (326) and average yards per catch (13.9), the last of which ranked 17th in the Mountain West. Against eventual conference champion San José State, he finished with six catches for 139 yards.
- In his first year under Cooper’s tutelage in 2019, Matthews posted 633 receiving yards, which ranks as the third-highest single season total by a freshman in program history. Matthews capped his rookie campaign with 111 receiving yards in SDSU’s big victory over Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl.
- In 2018, Cooper coached a wide receiver corps that helped the Aztecs rank 12th nationally in passing yards per completion (14.66). He also witnessed the program’s best individual performance at the position since 2009 when senior Fred Trevillion finished with 189 yards receiving yards and two touchdowns on four catches at Fresno State.
- Under Cooper’s guidance, Mikah Holder received all-Mountain West honorable mention as a senior in 2017 after leading the Aztecs with career highs of 43 receptions and 602 yards, which were more than the totals of the next two SDSU players combined.
- Cooper also played a pivotal role in Holder’s development during the 2016 campaign, as the Aztec wide receiver topped the squad in receiving yards (581) and touchdown catches (6) while ranking seventh nationally and third in the Mountain West in yards per catch (21.5). Cooper’s assistance with Donnel Pumphrey also proved essential that season, as the SDSU running back tied with Holder for the team lead in receptions (27) for 231 yards. Pumphrey was a fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2017 NFL Draft.
- In 2015, Cooper coached Holder to a breakout season, which included a team-high 439 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. He also assisted Pumphrey in a junior year that resulted in Sports Illustrated honorable mention All-America and Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honors after he led the Aztecs in rushing yards and receptions, one of four players in the nation to accomplish the feat.
Previous Experience
- Prior to his appointment on The Mesa, Cooper served for six seasons as the head coach at Canyon Springs High in Las Vegas.
- Under Cooper's direction, CSHS made the Sunrise Region playoffs all six years, earning Northeast Sunrise Divisional Coach-of-the-Year honors on three occasions.
- This past season, Cooper's Canyon Springs team was the first Sunrise Region team in more than 40 games to beat perennial power Liberty.
- One of his top players was former SDSU running back Donnel Pumphrey, a Heisman and All-America candidate and the NCAA FBS career record holder in rushing yards (6,405) who was selected as the 132nd pick in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He amassed 4,152 yards and 49 touchdowns on 494 attempts (8.4 avg.) over his career at CSHS. In 2012, Pumphrey rushed for 1,491 yards on 160 carries (9.3 avg.) and 19 touchdowns en route to being named the Gatorade Nevada Player of the Year.
- Began his coaching career with a three-year stint (2006-08) on the Utah Blaze (Arena Football League) coaching staff, working with the team’s defensive backs, wide receivers, linebackers and serving as the defensive coordinator.
Playing Experience
- Cooper had one of the greatest careers in Arena Football League history, coming in as the fifth-greatest player in AFL history by the league's Silver Anniversary Committee.
- Named to the Arena Hall of Fame in 2011.
- He led the Arizona Rattlers to a pair of AFL championships (1994 and 1997) and was picked as the MVP of the 1997 AFL Championship game.
- When he retired in 2005, he was the AFL’s all-time leader in nearly all return categories. That year, he had his No. 14 jersey retired by the Rattlers in 2005.
- In 2001, Cooper was selected to the first-team all-15th Anniversary as both a receiver and linebacker. He finished his career with nearly 9,000 receiving yards to go along with 196 tackles and 15 interceptions, including seven for a touchdown.
- He was named the Ironman of the Year in both 1999 and 2000.
- He earned Ironman of the Game honors in ArenaBowl XI, returning a kick for a touchdown and intercepting a Kurt Warner pass for another score, as the Ratters defeated the Iowa Barnstormers, 55-33.
- Cooper was named the AFL MVP as a rookie in 1993 after totaling 91 receptions for 1,214 yards and 19 touchdowns, and ended up becoming a 12-time all-pro selection.
- Originally signed as a fourth-string wide receiver, Cooper immediately shot up the depth chart.
- At UNLV, he twice earned All-America honors and all-Big West Conference accolades as a punt returner and kick returner (1989- 90).
- Cooper, who played six different positions with the Rebels, scored four touchdowns as an all-purpose player in his first career Division I game.
- He wore No. 14 while playing for the Rebels.
- Was the quarterback for national champion Navarro College in 1989.
Education
- A 1991 graduate of UNLV.
Personal
- Cooper and his wife Tiffany have three children: Brianna, AJ, who played football at Southern Oregon, and Destini.