Prague native Dalton Cooper thrilled to be 'back close to home' at Oklahoma State football

PRAGUE — John Cooper drove down the road late Thursday morning, heading to help his son, Dalton, whose pickup had broken down not far from home.

Dalton Cooper has put more than 180,000 miles on the old Chevrolet, mostly on trips between Prague and his college football home at Texas State University in San Marcos over the last 4½ years.

The two towns are about 430 miles apart — or nearly seven hours in Cooper’s pickup.

But those trips are finished.

After the last three seasons as the Bobcats’ starting left tackle, the 6-foot-6, 320-pound Cooper is heading home. He announced last Wednesday that he had committed to Oklahoma State for his final two years of college football eligibility.

Minimizing the mileage on his pickup was low on the list of priorities when Cooper entered the transfer portal on Dec. 9.

Getting close to home, however, was highly important.

Cooper entered the portal on a Friday morning, and one of his first phone calls was from OSU. By Sunday evening, head coach Mike Gundy was sitting face-to-face with the family in Prague.

More:Where must Oklahoma State football focus its recruiting efforts? Here are three key areas.

That’s where Cooper revealed the No. 1 goal on his list in the search for a new school.

“I want to go somewhere that I can make a difference and I want that school to make a difference in me,” Cooper told Gundy.

Cooper was lightly recruited out of Prague in the 2019 class, the same year that current OSU tight end Jake Schultz was recruited to walk on with the Cowboys. Cooper took the opportunity at Texas State and made the most of it.

He was good enough to earn some brief playing time in his first season while redshirting. The next season, he stepped into the starting left tackle role and never let it go.

Over three seasons, he allowed just seven sacks on 1,446 pass plays, according to Pro Football Focus statistics. In 2,457 total snaps, he was penalized just 15 times.

He comes to an OSU squad that will return both of its tackles in Caleb Etienne and Jake Springfield, but Cooper will compete for playing time immediately.

Cooper gained about 40 pounds over his four years at Texas State, but John is excited to see what OSU strength and conditioning coach Rob Glass could do with his son’s body.

More:Which players have committed to Oklahoma State football's 2023 recruiting class?

“A big factor in picking OSU was Coach Glass,” John said. “We feel like he could’ve gotten bigger (at Texas State). The resources at that school are not near what we’re coming into now.”

Dalton called the first three days after he entered the portal “the most stressful three days of my life.”

Even with a successful three years at Texas State, he had never been the target of such attention. Calls came in from Power Five programs from coast to coast, many offering scholarships.

A college football fan from a young age, Dalton understood the magnitude of what was happening.

“It was unreal,” Dalton said. “I never thought I could play in the SEC, but I had two SEC schools call me. It was surreal to have that opportunity to even go there. Even now, I’m in the Big 12 and it feels crazy to me.”

When he was young, Dalton was a big fan of Bo Jackson and knew the history of the two-sport star.

“When he was in fourth or fifth grade, if you had told him that one day, the home of Bo Jackson is gonna call, and you’re gonna tell ‘em ‘no,’ we would’ve thought, what’s wrong with us?” John said.

Three uncomfortably hectic days were calmed by Gundy’s visit last Sunday night.

“Once Coach Gundy came down to my hometown, he kinda just settled everything,” Dalton said. “I started to relax after that, because I knew where I was gonna go. Now, I’m just ready to get started.”

Dalton didn’t publish the news of his offers on social media. He had no interest in the attention that came with such actions.

“The minute he entered the portal, he was ready for it to be over with,” John said. “He does not like attention. He just wants to work.”

The offer list he compiled in just a few days on the portal was significant, and he had received calls from several others expressing interest. Conference champions, bluebloods, half of the College Football Playoff field.

But Dalton didn’t play games with them.

“He was honest with them,” John said. “He told them he wanted to get back close to home.”

Dalton wants his grandparents to be able to watch him play. He wants to go hunting with his father and accompany the family on their regular trips to Lake Eufaula.

But those things weren’t always possible over his four years in San Marcos.

“I’ve definitely missed it the last four years,” Dalton said. “All my teammates at Texas State, they didn’t know what noodling was. Half of ‘em didn’t hunt or any of that stuff. It was hard to do anything down there, but here, I know for sure I’ll be able to go back to doing the things I like doing again.”

More:Oklahoma State football, Wisconsin face 'a tough situation' with transferring QBs

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football: Prague native Dalton Cooper happy to be home