AJ Cooper - Football Coach - Oregon State University Athletics

AJ Cooper

Title:
Defensive Graduate Assistant Coach
Phone:
737-2614

Hometown: North Las Vegas, Nev.
Education: Southern Oregon, 2019 - business administration; Central Washington, 2021 - Master’s of Athletic Administration

NOTABLES
97: Tackles by Armon Bailey at Sac State in 2023, earning First-Team All-League honors
Two-Time: NAIA National Champion at Southern Oregon
198: Tackles in his career at Southern Oregon
108.2: Pac-12 best rush yards allowed by Oregon State’s defense in 2022

OREGON STATE (2023-Present)
• Moved to secondary coach after the 2024 season
• Appointed inside linebackers coach on December 12, 2023
• Inside linebacker Isaiah Chisom named a Freshman All-America with 75 tackles and five tackles for loss in 2024
• True freshman Dexter Foster played in all 12 games in ‘24, finishing fifth at OSU with 31 tackles. Added two TFLs

SACRAMENTO STATE (2023)
• Named linebackers coach in January 2023
• Helped guide Sacramento State to an 8-5 record. Sacramento State advanced to the FCS Playoffs and won its first game there, 42-35
• Linebacker Armon Bailey earned First-Team All-Big Sky Conference honors
• Bailey tallied a team-best 97 tackles, good for third in the Big Sky
• Bailey also finished in the top 10 in the conference for sacks with 2.5
• Sacramento State finished fourth in the Big Sky with 25 sacks in 2023

OREGON STATE (2021-22)
• Spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as a graduate assistant for defense, working with outside linebackers, defensive backs and the defensive line
• Helped Oregon State to a 10-3 overall record and berth into the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
• Part of a defensive staff that helped the Beavers limit opponents to 108.2 rush yards per game, best in the Pac-12, and 15th nationally
• Linebacler Omar Speights was named All-Pac-12 First Team and defensive back Jaydon Grant was selected second team

CENTRAL WASHINGTON (2019-20)
• Graduate assistant and cornerbacks coach for two seasons
• Coached cornerback Tyren Sams who was named a Division II All-American, All-Region and All-Conference
• Also coached Marcus Schimmelfennig, who also earned honorable mention all-league accolades
• Central Washington finished first in conference allowing 131.4 rush yards per game in 2021. Team allowed fewest yards overall in conference play at 325.1, and limited teams to 22.6 points on average, best in the league
• Wildcats allowed 29.6 points per game in 2019, second-best in conference play. Total defense was No. 1 allowing 399 yards on average, while third-down defense was best at 31.5 percent.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE
• Southern Oregon - four-year starter from 2015-18
• Finished his career with 198 tackles and nine interceptions
• Part of two NAIA National Championship teams, first as a redshirt in 2014 then as a starter in 2015

BOWL GAMES/POSTSEASON PLAYOFFS
2023   FCS Playoffs
2022   Las Vegas Bowl (GA)
2021   Las Angeles Bowl (GA)
2019   NCAA Division II Playoffs (GA)
2017   NAIA Championship Series
2016   NAIA Championship Series
2015   NAIA Championship Series
2014   NAIA Championship Series