Cooper can’t wait to feel Lions’ heat

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This article was published 06/07/2018 (2678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tyneil Cooper is getting the biggest break of his brief pro football career tonight.

The 5-8, 175-pounder from Providence, R.I., signed as a free agent by the Blue Bombers on April 19, is expected to be in the starting lineup as the field cornerback when Winnipeg hosts the B.C. Lions.

Game time at Investors Group Field is 7:30 p.m.

“My whole life, I’ve kinda been the underdog,” Cooper said after Friday’s walk-through.

“It’s nothing new to me. I just let my playing ability speak for itself.”

Cooper, who played at NCAA Division II Dixie State in St. George, Utah, where he spent two seasons following stints at two junior colleges, understands he is likely to be tested early and often by B.C.’s high-powered passing attack.

“I know I’ve got a target on my head, so I’ve just got to play my game and play to my best ability and I’m ready,” said Cooper, who replaced fellow rookie Marcus Sayles midway through the third quarter of a Week 3 loss in Hamilton.

“I’ve got a feel for how fast-paced and how the game is and how we play as a defence. I think I’ll be good to go.”

Don’t be surprised to see the Blue Bombers use Cooper and Sayles against the Lions.

“With the rules, the waggle, it’s like guys are running at you and you’d think to just bail out of your break quicker,” the 23-year-old Cooper said.

“In reality, once I got the hang of it, I know I clued into how fast the waggle goes and how fast they run.”

Cooper was preparing for his pro day when Dixie State tight ends coach Rick Worman, a former CFL quarterback and the Blue Bombers’ offensive co-ordinator in 2001, recommended him to Winnipeg assistant GM Danny McManus.

Cooper attended Winnipeg’s February tryout camp in Las Vegas and made a favourable impression.

“He played part of last game, so he’s not a rookie,” Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea said.

“I’m sure he’s excited. The level of communication that has to go on with any young player, you have to make sure that you communicate at a high level with these guys. And that’s the responsibility of everybody around him and it’s his job to make sure he’s listening to everything and playing to the best of his ability, which we’re confident he can.”

Cooper will have a large cheering section watching at home, including his mom Chiara Cooper, a single parent who raised Tyneil and his four brothers and two sisters, and a large extended family.

“She’s really excited and says it’s what we wanted, we just didn’t expect it this early,” Cooper said.

“I want to go out there and make a name for not only myself, but the team and my family back at home.”

Veteran corner Chris Randle believes Cooper’s Week 3 test will go a long way towards making the transition a little bit easier.

Randle played four NFL pre-season games with the Dallas Cowboys in 2011 before debuting with the Calgary Stampeders a year later.

“I came in with a mindset that nothing was going to deter me,” Randle said, recalling his rookie season in the CFL.

“And I started out in special teams and I got a taste of it before I went to corner.

“He had a taste of it last week and that’s going to help him.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14