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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 40 Cooper would seem to have a prime example about what it'll take to succeed at cornerback: Dad Evan was a corner at Michigan and a fourth-round draft pick of the Eagles in 1984. Evyn Cooper started waking his dad up at 4:50 a.m. to work out over the last month, Evan Cooper said, and they try to get work in after school as well. Dad thinks his son ultimately projects better as a DB — a move to safety could happen at some point — and likes the idea of seeing Evyn's skill set on defense. "He's got long arms, good feet, big hands and he's smart," Evan Cooper said. "Physically, you don't have to get as close to a receiver in order to get your hands on him, you don't have to get your feet as close to a receiver, as opposed to being a 5-7, 5-8 corner. You have a guy who is 6-3 with a 7-foot wingspan and speed like a sprinter, that's a heck of a combination. "He's got a tremendous amount of athletic ability and he's got a real high football IQ. The two kind of go hand in hand. It'll take him a time or two, a few reps, at whatever position and he can almost guarantee that he'll perfect the position and do well at the position." Evyn Cooper said in his expe- rience at playing cornerback, he's seen his aggressiveness, rangy body and speed come up big. The latter al- lows him to quickly make up ground if he's beat, while the other two al- low him to play press man coverage, if needed. That's something Pur- due has asked its cornerbacks to do more, and it's something Brown and Williams have proven to be good at. But the depth chart doesn't seem to matter to Cooper. "It's not going to stop me from working hard," he said. "I'm going to work so hard regardless, if I have a position or not. I'm going to work so hard they're not going to have a choice but to put me on the field. I'm not being cocky or anything, but with the ability God blessed me with and the football IQ, wherever I need to go on the field, if that's gunner on special teams or if that's punter on special teams, anything like that, I'm going to be the best one to do that. "I believe I can just go to that campus and bring something no one else is going to bring. I have a goal in mind, and that's to be the best player to ever play in the Big Ten. It may be a big goal to some people, but to me, it's attainable." j @purdueunion PurdueMemorialUnion union.purdue.edu WELCOME to the Purdue Memorial Union meet. stay. eat. learn. play. The Cornerstone of Campus