Bradwell Institute Class of 1992 graduate and former Tiger football standout Sultan Cooper is the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Cooper said he moved back to Liberty County to be near his family in Gum Branch.
After high school, Cooper played at Albany State University. During his junior year, he was the third-ranked quarterback in passing efficiency in
NCAA Division II. That year, Cooper went 114 of 190 for 1,539 passing yards and 22 touchdowns in 11 games played.
During his senior year as a Golden Ram, he went 104 for 209 for 1,718 passing yards and 19 touchdowns in 11 games, making the NCAA Division II list again at No. 15 in passing efficiency.
Cooper said he’s been coaching for the past 16 years. His stops include Irwin County High School, Worth County, Washington-Wilkes, Bleckley County, Berrien County and, most recently, Fitzgerald High School.
Last season, the Tigers primarily ran an option offensive scheme. Cooper said that this season, they plan to run plays that will allow the players to develop their true skills.
“I coached at Fitzgerald for a lot of years, and we ran the Wing-T,” he said, hinting at the new scheme. “But it is different than a typical Wing-T.”
Cooper said he hopes to develop the offense to allow the scheme to be expanded to include specific pass plays and possibly run the pistol.
He said he wants the kids to have fun, but also learn and be more versatile athletes.
Since joining the staff at Bradwell, Cooper has evaluated the players and thinks most of the pieces are in place.
“I think we got everybody in the right spot for them to be successful,” he said. “Right now, it’s about getting them some game experience and for us to be patient. We need to let our kids catch on to what we expect from them in the game. And they need to come in every day and work hard mentally as well as physically.”
Cooper said he was happy with the Olvey Field reconstruction that was done in 2012.
“I was impressed with what they built here,” he said. “It’s a fantastic field.”
He said he thinks head coach Greg Hill and the entire staff are doing everything they can do improve the team and restore the Tigers’ winning ways. The Tigers will scrimmage Toombs County at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Lyons.
Bradwell opens the season by hosting Liberty County on Aug. 28.