Aaron Wilson: Merrimack standout guard Sam Cooper has overcome tragedy to build path to NFL

By Aaron Wilson

 

In tears, Sam Cooper stood at his brother’s deathbed inside a cold hospital room and delivered a solemn promise.

The future Merrimack College standout offensive lineman  and rising NFL draft prospect told his brother, Hassan, he would become a professional athlete one day.  Cooper, eight years old when his brother died in 2006, still recalls his brother’s smile, a warm moment for someone diagnosed with  terminal cancer whose foot had been amputated.

 

“It was such a sad, horrible time because his body was literally being eaten away,” Cooper said in an interview days prior to the draft. “My brother loved sports so much. I told him I would be a professional athlete one day. I had no idea what sport it would be, or that I would become this big football player.  Ever since the day he died, I’ve been determined to fulfill our dream.

 

“It’s like we’re still doing it together as one, as a family. I’m excited because this is something I’ve been wishing for and praying for ever since I told my brother this is what was going to happen. It’s a blessing to know this is going to come to fruition.”

 

Tragedy frequently overshadowed Cooper’s childhood after being born in Nigeria one year after his family moved from Liberia to escape a civil war. Cooper and his siblings later moved to Pennsylvania with their mother, Vivian, while their father remained in Africa to attend to his aviation business.

Cooper’s father was murdered three years after Hassan died. The crime was never solved.

 

“When my dad died, that was the most horrible time of my life,” Cooper said. “My dad was really successful. He was making so much money in the pilot business and grudges were built from jealous people. It was a really dark time and it made me so angry. I still see red sometimes thinking about it. The last time I spoke with him before he was killed, it was very similar to what I told my brother when he died. We were eating rice and African soup and my dad asked me would I take over the family business, the aviation business. And I told him what I told my brother, that I’m going to be a professional athlete.

 

“My faith is huge. I’ve always said, ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’ Everything I do is because of him. I always say, ‘Don’t ask for an easy life.’ I’m not sad. I’m not ashamed. I’m thankful. Everything has been a blessing. Everything I’ve been through built calluses into my brain to make me stronger for now and for the future for when I have kids. God plays a huge role. Dark times have given me even more motivation to achieve my dreams and fulfill my promises to my family.”

 

Harnessing those powerful emotions and life challenges, Cooper has developed into an emerging draft target who’s a natural offensive guard who can also transition to play center at the NFL level. Multiple NFL general managers, scouting directors and area scouts have graded him as a late-round prospect on their draft boards, according to league sources not authorized to speak publicly.

 

Cooper is no longer a secret to NFL teams and has set his ambitions on becoming the first player to be drafted by Merrimack, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision school that competes in the Northeast Conference. He’s a punishing blocker who played in the Hula Bowl and Tropical Bowl all-star games after being selected for the East-West Shrine all-star game and the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, which were cancelled.

“We’re incredibly proud of Sam and everything he’s accomplished,” Merrimack coach Dan Curran said of Cooper, an All-Northeast Conference selection. “Sam is everything you could want a player to be in terms of toughness, strength and athleticism for a guy his size. He is very conscientious about every detail of his blocking technique. He will text you at 10 o’clock at night to ask questions about plays and how to get better.

 

“Bottom line: Sam does everything the right way and is always working to maximize his potential. Whatever NFL team he goes to, they’re getting someone with a passion for football with the highest character. There’s no limit on what Sam is capable of doing.”

 

At 6-foot-2, 308 pounds, Cooper has outstanding strength, flexibility and mobility. His game film displays an aggressive, technically sound blocker with a nasty streak who consistently knocks people down.

 

“I play to the whistle,” Cooper said. “I don’t stop until the play is over.”

 

A transfer from Maine who was an All-Catholic League selection and National Honor Society student at Conwell-Egan Catholic in Pennsylvania, Cooper  has bench pressed 225 pounds 35 times and run the 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds with a 1.69 10-yard split. The team captain and dean’s list student’s  maximum bench press is 515 pounds and his maximum squat is 650 pounds.

 

“Sam is a great kid and he’s an excellent athlete,” said Marty Magid, a veteran NFL agent based in Pennsylvania who represents Cooper. “I have so much respect and faith in Sam because of the kind of person he is and what he’s able to do on the field. Sam is mature beyond his years. When he was at those all-star games, Sam was more than holding his own against those Division I players. He proved to everyone that he belonged with those guys. I’m so excited for him and so proud of him. Sam has overcome every obstacle he’s ever faced in his life, and the best is yet to come.”

 

The New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs are among the NFL teams that have displayed interest in Cooper. It has been a meteoric rise for the one-time football novice whose campus Pro Day workout was attended by nine teams.

 

“When I first started playing, I didn’t even know how to wear shoulder pads,” Cooper said. “I had never played football. I had only played the Madden video game. Now that I’m getting ready for the NFL draft, I’m going to be relentless. I’m not coming home. I didn’t start this long journey to relax now.”

 

Because of how Cooper excelled at the Hula Bowl in Hawaii, word spread quickly about a small-school prospect who manhandled players from the Big Ten Conference and other major college programs. At the Hula Bowl, he drew praise from NFL Network analyst and former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Brian Baldinger. Cooper  was honored with the annual Joe Roth Award.

 

“I was around a lot of very good players, but I wasn’t going to get my butt kicked,” Cooper said. “I came in there a very serious, focused player. I came there to handle business. I wasn’t there for sightseeing. I lost one one-on-one rep the whole week. That was my coming-out party that put me on the map.”

Cooper has formed a strong relationship with Magid, who was recommended to him by former NFL executive and Canadian Football League general manager Joe Mack.

 

“Marty is the best, and he believed in me,” Cooper said. “He has a very aggressive approach. I call him the guru. He never stops working. He texted me motivational things before my Pro Day and I felt like I could run through a wall. I was locked in, man. I knew I was going to dominate and I did.”

When Cooper was in high school, he began training with John Kalinowski. In one year, Cooper went from bench pressing 315 pounds to a maximum of 405 pounds and squatting 565 pounds.

 

Cooper’s 10-yard split tied Cleveland Browns first-round offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs for the fastest by an offensive lineman at the 2020 NFL scouting combine. His bench press reps would have ranked him third overall. Plus, his 7.69 three-cone drill would have ranked sixth among offensive linemen.

 

“He’s been huge in my life, I owe a lot to coach Kal,” Cooper said. “He made us super strong and super conditioned.  That’s how I got stronger for four quarters.”

“The progress that Sam has made is a testament to listening and applying what he was told and sticking with it,” Kalinowski said. “Sam has never been given a thing in his life. He’s earned everything he’s got and made himself into an NFL player. There’s no substitute for a strong work ethic, and that’s what Sam has got.”

Playing in a high-scoring offense orchestrated by Curran, Cooper absorbed a lot of knowledge from the former Arena Football League and New Hampshire running back who also played for the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints.

 

“Greatest coach ever,” Cooper said. “Coach Curran has been a blessing for my game and my life. Ever since I transferred from Maine, my game has taken off and reached a new level.”

 

To prepare for the NFL draft, Cooper has been training with a prominent, retired former AFC offensive line coach to hone his technique and strategies.

“I’ve been like a sponge with him,” Cooper said. “I have all these traits and it’s about putting those tools to work. It’s a blessing to have so many great people in my corner looking out for me.”

 

Through his mother’s example of perseverance and rising above trying circumstances, Cooper has witnessed firsthand how to stay the course. His mother is a caregiver for senior citizens. He plans to spend the draft with her and his sister, Sandra and Abigail.

 

 

 

“My mom has always been there for me, and I learned that work ethic at a very young age from her to strive to become a better man and a better football player,” said Cooper, who had a 3.5 grade point average as an undergraduate and has a current 4.0 GPA in his master’s studies. “My mom is a very focused individual. My mom raised me very well. She raised me in a religious household.

 

“Everything my mom did, taking us out of Nigeria, was to give us a better life. She’s always created goals. She’s always said, ‘Hey, Sam, if you do this, this will happen.’ That motivated me at a very young age and it motivates me today to push to be the best at everything I do.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for two decades, including as a beat writer for the  Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram @aaronwilson7128.