2026 Derrek Cooper 5* RB/ATH from Chaminade Commits to Texas

Advertisement
It’s a fair point. Mario was brought here knowing he was not exactly a X and O kind of dude outside of O line. He was brought here to keep kids home. Pure never keeping every kid home but it at least Appeared Mario would keep his fair share. The fact is he’s missed on a lot of the top kids and that also can’t happen.
sadly the rules and playing field has changed over the past three years. No one was keeping some of the kids who chose to leave home. No one.
 
@STG made a list and had us with 6 over last 3 classes. We will see what happens NSD this year. But obviously not getting Bell since we have Coleman. And I would completely move on from recruiting Russell and Cooper tbh.
Not sure what list he used, but with both 247 and 247 composite we’ve landed 1 top 5 player in the state of FL since the 2022 class. Kiko was at IMG and not even from FL. 2021 we got Taylor and Williams.

Edit: I just saw he said top 5 in Dade/Broward. 30% in your backyard is insane.
 
Last edited:
@JamesQuall isn't denying that he knows.

We're all tired of reading "I know why but I can't tell you" every time we miss on a player. Doesn't matter who says it.
If We can’t air it. It either

1) burns a source

2) reveals something we don’t want in a public domain that could be damning to the school

3) Hurts the program and relationships across the program and high schools we recruit from
 
IMG_5035.gif
 
Yeah, I'm a member of Ironclad Gym.
It's a small gym but loaded with lots of plates, dumbells and equipment.
Several competitive body builders seem to work at the gym, including females.
It sits in a drab shopping center so it's nothing fancy, but has the equipment I need and it's cheap.
The only issue I have had thus far is the owner is apparently a Nole, but he's a good dude and it's central Florida.....lol
all that matters. get a good work out in, clean, and fits your needs. the rest is just window dressing

management no matter how nice the gym is will be the difference maker. the equinox in aventura is trash AF compared other equinoxes in the area and a lot of is due to management not pushing for renovations. Aventura is opening up the new anatomy location right next to the equinox so im interested to see how it pushes them. anatomy is more of a weight lifters gym rather than a country club like equinox is marketed as.
 
Advertisement
He doesn’t need me to defend him but @Hurracanes is spot on here Jimmy Q
I never said he was wrong. I said to stop being cryptic about it. If he doesn't want to damage any relationships by spilling the info, that is fine. I wouldn't want to if I had such info. However, hinting that he knows more but will never tell is childish in my opinion. Dude has insider knowledge, that is great. I appreciate the info but save the "if only y'all knew" stuff. Either tell us or don't hint at it.

Not sure why that is a point of contention.
 
Nailed it. It's the fact Mario can't even recruit halfway decent in his own backyard. The optics are terrible and will continue to hurt with local kids because they see all their peers spurning the hometown school.

Below are the top 5 rated kids from Dade/Broward from 2023-2026 and where they ended up/currently committed.

Now I am sure the excuse makers will come out in full force and we'll hear, "we didn't want this kid" or "that kid sucked anyways." The fact remains, Mario is getting dog walked in his own hometown for the top recruits.

If 2026 holds up, he will have gone 6 of 20 (30%) on the top kids from Dade/Broward and 1 of 5 (20%) with the local 5 stars. You can be the biggest slurper and can't deny these results are bad. Wait, who am I kidding, they won't admit it.

1. Hykeem Williams (5 star/#30) - FSU
2. Brandon Innis (4 star/#38) - OSU
3. Reuben Bain (4 star/#62) - GOOD GUYS
4. Jalen Brown (4 star/#71) - LSU
5. King Mack (4 star/#91) - PSU

2024
1. Jeremiah Smith (5 star/#1) - OSU
2. Armando Blount (5 star/#28) - GOOD GUYS
3. JoJo Trader (4 star/#42) - GOOD GUYS
4. Zaquan Patterson (4 star/#93) - GOOD GUYS
5. Jamari Howard (4 star/#110) - FSU

2025
1. Ben Hanks (4 star/#59) - UF
2. Javari Flowers (4 star/#82) - UF
3. Cortez Mills (4 star/#113) - NEBRASKA
4. Josh Moore (4 star/#125) - GOOD GUYS
5. Bryce Fitzgerald (4 star/#138) - GOOD GUYS

2026 (TBD)
1. Dia Bell (5 star/#11) - UT
2. Derrek Cooper (5 star/#29) - UT
3. Justice Fitzpatrick (4 star/#47) - UGA
4 Calvin Russell (4 star/#49) - SYRACUSE
5. James Johnson (4 star/#70) - UT
Yeah 2026 is an anomaly right now. WTF IS GOING ON?
 
So don't mention it at all. Being cryptic about **** serves no purpose.
I rather have cryptic than nothing. I get the reasons why some laundry cant get aired but appreciate knowing there is more to the story than whats being reported.

Some of us are capable of picking up on nuance and reeding between the lines while also deciding on our own who is legit and who is full of it. I dont need some hero deciding that for me or calling out every insider who gets something wrong as if its their moral obligation to keep things real.
 
Advertisement
I rather have cryptic than nothing. I get the reasons why some laundry cant get aired but appreciate knowing there is more to the story than whats being reported.

Some of us are capable of picking up on nuance and reeding between the lines while also deciding on our own who is legit and who is full of it. I dont need some hero deciding that for me or calling out every insider who gets something wrong as if its their moral obligation to keep things real.

I can't fathom thinking this way, but to each their own.
 
At the end of the day we have had Randy, Al, Mark, Manny, and now Mario run through here and all of them have had issues with local recruiting ties. There seems to be one common theme. The South Florida coaches being the problem. Fool me once something something.
SF coaches have been sending more kids here since Mario. We just haven’t had a product until this year to sell to top kids that’s all this is. Can’t win em all even though I’m ****ed about it
 
I rather have cryptic than nothing. I get the reasons why some laundry cant get aired but appreciate knowing there is more to the story than whats being reported.

Some of us are capable of picking up on nuance and reeding between the lines while also deciding on our own who is legit and who is full of it. I dont need some hero deciding that for me or calling out every insider who gets something wrong as if its their moral obligation to keep things real.
Tell me the difference between these two things:

"This is concerning considering he’s been Mario’s priority for years now. Texas came out of no where and dropped a crazy bag because they whiffed on others. We also fumbled this and other major prospects it's a bad look on the entire staff."

"This is concerning considering he’s been Mario’s priority for years now. Texas came out of no where and dropped a crazy bag because they whiffed on others. We also fumbled in ways i can’t share here but this and other major prospects are a bad look on the entire staff."

Anybody with a 1/4 of a brain can deduce that something went terribly wrong with this and several other recruits. If he was being pressed by multiple people to share more info yet he declines with "I know but I can't share" that is understandable. But to hint that he knows more when no one asked is a way to get under people's skin.

That's all I'm saying. I have 0 problems with @Hurracanes. None. Again, I appreciate his info and his opinion. I'm simply offering an opinion that may help keep people off his back. If he chooses to take it, cool. If he tells me to go **** myself? That's cool too. Just try to understand that being purposefully cryptic is tiring when most people know nothing except what is shared here and that is compounded when we go on losing streaks for guys that we have been told were **** near "locks."
 
Back
Top