Hernandez James "Hunkie" Cooper (born May 17, 1969) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

Wide receiver and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who played for the Arizona Rattlers of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

until his retirement in 2005. He was previously the wide receivers coach for the

San Diego State Aztecs football : ''For information on all San Diego State University sports, see San Diego State Aztecs'' The San Diego State Aztecs football team represents San Diego State University in the sport of American football. The Aztecs compete in the Football Bow ...

team and currently is the Director of Football Player Development for the

UNLV Rebels football The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) conferenc ...

team. He is a two time recipient of the Ironman of the Year award and was voted league MVP in 1993.

Early life

Hunkie Cooper was the son of a military veteran and the youngest, and shortest, of 9 children. He received the name Hernandez from a pact his father had made to his best friend prior to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. The pact they made said that if either were to die, the other would name his next child after him.

High school years

Cooper attended Westwood High School in Palestine, Texas and was a student and a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. In football, he played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

College years

Hunkie went on to play at

Navarro College Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students. The Corsica ...

in Texas where he led the Bulldogs to a

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

national championship in 1989. He soon transferred to

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

. At UNLV, he played six different positions, and he was a two-time All-

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

selection. In a dramatic beginning to D1 Football in Hunkie's first game for Head Coach Jim Strong's UNLV Rebel's he scored Four Touchdowns from all over the field in the season opener verses Southwest Missouri. As a punt returner during his senior season he was selected as an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. He received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Criminal Law and

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

in 1991.

Professional career

Arizona Rattlers

After his time at UNLV, Hunkie believed his football career was over, so he took a job at a

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

area casino. He tried playing in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, but was not very successful. One day at work, Arizona Rattlers Director of Player Personnel Pete Kettela asked him if he would like to sign a contract with the Rattlers organization.

1993–1997

Cooper arrived at camp as a fourth string receiver but quickly worked his way up the depth chart. By the end of the year he was selected as the league MVP, and an all-star as an

Offensive Specialist In arena football, a specialist was a player, other than a quarterback or placekicker, who was exempt from the league's one-platoon system ("Iron Man"). Under the original Arena football system, six of the eight players on each team were required ...

while breaking the AFL record for kickoff return yards with 1423 yards. In 1994, Cooper helped take the team to their first ArenaBowl appearance, which they won 36–31. In 1996, a year after making the transition to a two way receiver and linebacker, he was selected as an all star once again. In 1997, Cooper was a second-team all star selection. He helped lead the team to their second ArenaBowl win and was voted as Ironman of the game after catching a 30-yard touchdown pass, returning a kick for a touchdown, and returning an interception for a touchdown.

1998–2001

He was voted Tinactin Ironman of the Year, Second-team All-Arena - WR/LB, and All-Ironman Team in 1999. He was again voted Tinactin Ironman of the Year, First-team All-Arena - WR/LB, and All-Ironman Team - WR/LB, in 2000. In 2001, he was again selected to the All-Ironman Team - WR/LB and for the first time was a First-team member of the 15th Anniversary Team - WR/LB.

2002–2005

On March 20, 2002, Cooper re-signed with the Rattlers. He helped lead the team to three consecutive appearances in the ArenaBowl. Cooper began the 2005 season on Injured Reserve, missing the first two games of the season with a

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

injury. He soon retired after being cut.

Retirement

After being cut by the Rattlers in 2005, he decided to retire. On May 6, 2005, the Arizona Rattlers retired his #14. Cooper was elected into the

Arena Football Hall of Fame The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–200 ...

in the 2011 class.

Stats

Cooper is one of only two players to earn both AFL MVP (1993) and Ironman of the Year awards (1999, 2000) in a career. He is also one of two players to earn Ironman awards twice. He finished his career as Arizona's all-time leader in receiving yards (8,559), receptions (776), forced fumbles (7), fumble recoveries (11) and touchdowns (205). Cooper is also the Arena Football League's all-time leader in all-purpose yardage (20,587) and kickoff returns (500).

Coaching career

Utah Blaze

2006 season

He later became a wide receivers/linebackers coach for the

Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze was a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competed in the West Division of the Arena Football League. Home games were played at the EnergySolutions Arena. In 2013, the team did not submit proper ...

under his former coach

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and Punter (football), punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compas ...

2007 season

In 2007, Cooper was the defensive coordinator for the Blaze.

2008 season

In 2008, Cooper was demoted to

defensive backs In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

coach under new Blaze head coach Ron James. After the Blaze started the season 0–5, Cooper was relieved of his coaching duties.

High school coaching

While coaching with the Utah Blaze, Hunkie also served as an assistant coach with Canyon Springs High School in Las Vegas. In 2009 Hunkie was named the head coach at Canyon Springs High School and was also named Coach of the Year. He also served as an assistant coach at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.

San Diego State

In January 2015, Cooper was hired as the wide receivers coach at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. Cooper was dismissed from his position at San Diego State in January 2023.

UNLV

On March 1, 2023,

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

announced the hiring of Cooper as its Director of Football Player Development.

Personal

Cooper resides in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Hunkie is married to his wife, Tiffany and has six children: Nigel (23), Dirik (22), Simone (21), Brianna (15), A.J. (14), and Destini (11).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Hunkie 1969 births Living people American football linebackers American football wide receivers American players of Canadian football Canadian football wide receivers Arizona Rattlers players BC Lions players Navarro Bulldogs football players New Orleans Saints players San Diego State Aztecs football coaches UNLV Rebels football players Utah Blaze coaches High school football coaches in Nevada People from North Las Vegas, Nevada People from Palestine, Texas Players of American football from Texas