Make good with Zerrick Cooper. That was among the first priorities for Brandon Streeter when he was hired to replace Chad Morris as Clemson quarterbacks coach.
Cooper committed to the Tigers in October of 2014, during Morris’ final season.
Streeter struck up a relationship soon after he was hired in December and that bond continued to grow over the next few months.
During the 2015 spring evaluation period, Streeter stopped by Jonesboro, Ga. to see his future pupil at throw.
“That was the first time I got the opportunity to see him throw live and, obviously, anybody we recruit here at Clemson they’re going to be a very good football player,” Streeter said. “I knew he was good, but whenever you get to see him for he first time, to throw the ball, man it was special. Unbelievable arm. Unbelievable talent.”
The four-star quarterback and coach were reunited again in June for the final practice of the Dabo Swinney Football Camp.
“All of the other coaches got to see him again, because he had his knee injury and he recovered from that,” Streeter said. “He’s one of the top guys I’ve seen throw.
“Then I went to watch him in a game, during the fall. He did a great job. He did a great job of managing the game.”
On Wednesday, Cooper faxed his National Letter of Intent to Clemson.
“We’re really excited about him and developing him into being a cerebral and all-around quarterback. He’s got the talents,” Streeter said. “It’s always a question with a true freshman coming in.
“How much knowledge do they have coming in? And how much do you continue to teach that?”
Lately, Streeter’s been following Cooper’s career on the Jonesboro High School basketball team. The Cardinals are the defending Georgia 4A state champions, but Cooper missed all of last season because of his torn ACL.
“They’re ranked first in the state of Georgia right now and they’ve got some unbelievable players. I was able to go to one of their games, and I knew they were good, but within the first half, the first three quarters, there were like 12 or 15 dunks in the game,” Streeter said. “He’s a starter for that team and it showed his athleticism and showed his leadership out on that court as well.
“He called me a couple of days later and I said, ‘How did you guys do last night?’ Because I wasn’t able to check.”
The answer?
Jonesboro beat Pike, 115-14. They were up 74-12 at the half.
Cooper scored 10 points in about 16 minutes that night.
“They’ve got a pretty impressive basketball team over there as well,” Streeter said.
Their former quarterback, who was able to start for just one season, wasn’t too bad on the gridiron either.
As a senior, Cooper completed 161 of 267 passes for 2,039 yards with 21 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed for 359 yards and helped lead Jonesboro to an 11-2 record and a trip the state quarterfinals.