When identifying potential CFL contributors from the NCAA, one must cast a wide net in order to find some of the hidden gems that NFL teams may under-value.
One such player who I personally scouted during the 2021 college football season was South Dakota defensive end and core special teamer DeJaun Cooper.
After spending four productive seasons at Monmouth University, Cooper grad-transferred to the University of South Dakota, where he became a core-four special teamer and rotational pass rusher for the Coyotes. To quickly elaborate, a core-four special teamer is a player who starts on the kickoff, kick return, punt, and punt return units.
Most FCS players who did not receive a regular starting role in their final season are often overlooked, but Cooper had some unique qualities that our scouting department identified as being ideal for the CFL game.
After an excellent Pro Day showing that included a 4.69 40-yard dash (89th percentile at his position) and 38.5-inch vertical jump (97th percentile), the young man earned a rookie minicamp invitation with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. While the Panthers did not ultimately choose to sign him to a contract, he had a spot up North with the Blue Bombers waiting for him.
We identified Cooper as a potential contributor in April of 2022, put him on our negotiation list in May prior to his minicamp invite with Carolina, and signed him in late August after Week 12 of the CFL regular season.
Despite being brought to the team so late in the year, Cooper managed to crack the active roster for five games and quickly became a valued special teams piece late in the season.
What makes the 23-year-old a valuable part of the current on-field roster and potential core special teamer for the 2023 season is his combination of speed, short-area quickness, lower-half explosiveness, and motor.
It’s no secret that speed and quickness are at a premium in the CFL due to our wider and longer field, but one of the more underrated qualities that a Blue Bomber defender must have is a constantly running motor and the willingness to go all-out with high effort every snap.
With a full offseason upcoming, I’m excited to see how Cooper’s abilities mature and develops as he has more time to adapt to the CFL game.
Cyril Penn is a Blue Bombers U.S.-based scout and he will be writing regularly for bluebombers.com through the spring, providing an inside look at some of the American prospects the club will brining to training camp.
