2016 defender checks out Illinois

2016 defensive end Jonathon Cooper was one of the top prospects on campus Saturday to watch the Illini go through spring workouts.

Illinois reached out early and offered Cooper, and he also holds an offer from Kentucky.

Orange and Blue News caught up with Cooper on Saturday. As sophomore in high school, he is just now becoming more familiar with the Illinois program and getting to know the staff.

"I have talked to Coach Beckman and Coach Golesh," Cooper said. " "They just told me they liked me and wanted to see more of me around campus and get familiar with everything. I really like the practice, how they set up, and their defense.

"We put on jerseys and took a picture with (head coach Tim Beckman). After that we talked about the school and had players talk to us about the different things they have done at Illinois. I got to see their practice, which was great. They then split us all up to get our height and weight. After all that was done, we talked with our positions coach."

Known as a speedy rusher off of the edge, Cooper could play the Will linebacker or Leo spots at Illinois should he eventually decide to wear the orange and blue.

"I play linebacker and defensive end," Cooper said. "Illinois is recruiting me as a linebacker. My sophomore season went well. Our team didn't do that well, but I thought I had an all-around great season Some strengths in my game that I pride myself on are my speed and my motor to keep going. But I want to continue to work on my strength and footwork to cover running backs when I play OLB."

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"I'm happy (Illinois) was the first school to offer me. Before the visit, I thought it was an amazing school and they have an awesome engineering program, and I want to become a engineer. I confirmed my thoughts on the visits. It was an amazing school and I hope to be back there soon. What really sticks out to me is how they get after it during practice and how great the academics are, it's an all-around great place."

The list of programs showing strong interest in Cooper is growing.

Ohio State, Michigan State, Kentucky, Illinois, Northwestern, Cincinnati, Boston College, and Michigan have been showing me the most interest lately," Cooper said. "I have offers from Kentucky and Illinois but no favorites at this point."

Cooper was recently one of the top performers at the Core 6 Cincinnati (Ohio) Showcase and the Best of the Midwest Combine in Indianapolis (Ind.) Rivals will get another close look at Cooper later in the spring when the Rivals Camp Series makes a stop in Columbus (Ohio).

"I'm going to the Rivals camp in April," Cooper said. "I'm looking forward to competing against great players and see how much better I can get."

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