News
Cooper feels right at home as he gets more reps at center
11 Aug 10
BY JUDD ZULGAD, Star Tribune
MANKATO - Jon Cooper doesn't hesitate when asked how much more comfortable he is this season compared with a year ago, when he was an undrafted rookie center out of Oklahoma simply hoping to stick with the Vikings.
"So much more," he said. "With this offense last year my head was swimming. Now it's kind of becoming second nature."
Cooper is getting an excellent opportunity to show just how much he has learned. Starter John Sullivan has been on and off the practice field since suffering a calf injury on July 31, meaning Cooper has been getting many of the reps at center.
"It helps a lot," he said. "Being able to go with some of the guys like Steve [Hutchinson] and Anthony [Herrera], Big Mac [Bryant McKinnie] and Phil [Loadholt]. Just working with those groups and against our ones really helps me kind of set my game up. Everything moves a little faster."
Although Ryan Cook has been getting some reps at center, Cooper seems a good bet to stick as Sullivan's backup. Last year, Cooper spent the first four weeks on the Vikings' practice squad before being activated. His only action came on Dec. 6 at Arizona when he entered in an emergency situation at right guard.
But Cooper is most at home at center, and getting this work is helping his cause. "He's done a good job," coach Brad Childress said. "I don't know that we would have ever gotten to see him in that role and playing against [defensive tackles] Pat Williams and Kevin Williams. A guy's got to do something right to start for four years at Oklahoma. He's smart mentally, he's probably about the same weight right now as John Sullivan, and he's done decent with the turns that he's gotten in there."
