North Texas Offers Lindale Defensive Lineman Terrell Cooper

North Texas' coaching staff took advantage of an idle week to the benefit of several in-state high school football players.

Without a game this past Saturday, and just ahead of the program going for its first game above .500 since the 2013 season later this week, its coaches scattered across East Texas, the Metroplex and beyond to see what's out there in the recruiting sphere.

Lindale senior defensive lineman Terrell Cooper was one of the guys the Mean Green coaches green lit in the short span. They awarded the standout defender his fourth NCAA Division I FBS scholarship opportunity and joined the chase alongside Arkansas State, Memphis and Texas State as well as Stephen F. Austin from the FCS level of Division I.

North Texas offered junior Marshall offensive guard Chasen Hines and senior Tyler Lee safety Makyle Sanders last week.

If Cooper (6-3, 240) ultimately signs with the Mean Green, he will have the opportunity to join at least join forces with senior Texas High quarterback Cade Pearson.

Pearson is the sole player North Texas has managed to get out of the region toward its 2017 recruiting class, but Sanders and now Cooper are second and third realistic options.

The program previously offered seven other local senior players. That group committed elsewhere, three of them to schools in Power Five conferences.

However, North Texas currently boasts 10 players that competed locally in high school in addition to another four players from out of the region that played at East Texas junior colleges.

Cooper, alongside senior Prairie View A&M linebacker commitment Kale Ridge, is one of the seniors leading Lindale through a difficult season. The team is 1-6 overall and on a six-game losing streak ahead of this week's District 17-5A game at home against Corsicana.

Cooper can play either defensive tackle or defensive end at the high school level.

Last year, Cooper made up a critical piece of East Texas' best defense among schools at the Class 6A and Class 5A levels. That unit held opponents to about 21 points against per game and finished the year with a Class 5A Division II bi-district playoff game appearance.

North Texas, on the other hand, is trending up. It already has surpassed last season's win total by two games.

The university fired former head coach Dan McCarney five games into the 2015 season and its team floundered to a 1-11 record. With first-year coach Seth Littrell in charge, the team is 3-3 ahead of Saturday's game at Army.

Cooper, like all high school seniors with football scholarship offers, will become eligible to sign with any program that wants him in February.

2017 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers

• Tristan Allen, Atlanta, LB, 6-3, 206 — offer from Louisiana Tech, UTEP (2)
• Judah Bell, Tyler Bishop Gorman, WR, 6-3, 180 — committed to Navy; additional offers from Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, Houston, Kansas, Memphis, New Mexico, North Texas, SMU, ULL, ULM, UTSA, Wyoming (13)
• Noah Bush, Athens, LB, 6-1, 216 — offers from Air Force, Army (2)
• Lagaryonn Carson, Liberty-Eylau, DE, 6-4, 261 — committed to Texas; additional offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, North Texas, Oklahoma, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M (9)
• Terrell Cooper, Lindale, DE, 6-3, 240 — offers from Arkansas State, Memphis, North Texas, Texas State (4)
• Trestan Ebner, Henderson, WR, 5-11, 180 — committed to TCU; additional offers from Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Colorado State, Houston, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Texas, Ole Miss, SMU, Syracuse, UTSA, Texas A&M, Tulsa (18)
• Montrell Estell, Hooks, WR/DB, 6-2, 180 — committed to Texas; additional offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas, Notre Dame, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tulane (12)
• Octavius Evans, Center, WR, 6-2, 186 — offers from Indiana, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas State, ULL (7)
• Ted Fuller, Harleton, RB, 5-11, 195 — offers from ULM, Wyoming (2)
• Tre Gatlin, Carthage, DE, 6-6, 210 —offer from Wyoming (1)
• Quan Hampton, Texas High, WR, 5-8, 165 —offer from Texas State (1)
• Austin Hawley, Gladewater, DB, 6-1, 200 — offer from ULM (1)
• Kollin Hurt, Gilmer, DB, 6-3, 175 — committed to Louisiana Tech; additional offers from ULM, UTSA (3)
• Jordan Johnson, Hooks, ATH, 6-0, 195 — committed to Air Force (1)
• Kayce Medlock, Arp, ATH, 5-10, 186 — committed to SMU; additional offers from Army, Colorado, Navy, Tulane, ULL, UTSA (7)
• Damion Miller, John Tyler, WR, 6-1, 189 — committed to Texas; additional offers from Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Missouri, North Texas, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, SMU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (11)
• LaMarcus Morton, Gilmer, WR, 6-2, 175 — committed to Oklahoma State; additional offers from Arkansas State, Colorado State, Houston, Indiana, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, New Mexico State, Texas Tech, Tulsa, ULL, ULM, UTSA (13)
• Javonta Mosley, John Tyler, CB, 6-1, 170 — committed to UTSA; additional offers from Arkansas State, Houston, Memphis, North Texas, SMU, Southern Miss, Texas State, ULL, ULM (10)
• Cade Pearson, Texas High, QB, 6-3, 193 — committed to North Texas; additional offer from Wyoming (2)
• Dhailon Phillips, Lufkin, WR, 6-3, 195 — offers from Air Force, Army, Texas State (3)
• Dez Robinson, Atlanta, LB, 6-3, 210 — offers from UTEP, Wyoming (2)  
• Kordell Rodgers, Lufkin, QB/ATH, 5-10, 165 — committed to Texas State; additional offers from Arkansas State, ULM (3)
• Makyle Sanders, Tyler Lee, S, 6-1, 177 — offers from Air Force, Memphis, Navy, North Texas (4)
• Bryson Smith, John Tyler, QB/ATH, 6-0, 170 — committed to Houston; additional offers from Air Force, Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Memphis, New Mexico, North Texas, Purdue, SMU, Southern Miss, Texas State, Tulane, Tulsa, ULL, ULM, UTSA (16)
• D’Torian Smith, Tatum, DE/LB, 6-3, 225 — committed to Air Force; additional offers from ULM, UTEP (3)
• Major Tennison, Bullard, TE, 6-6, 248 — offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, SMU, Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA (14)
• Josh Thompson, Nacogdoches, CB, 6-0, 182 — committed to Texas; additional offers from Arkansas State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Houston, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Minnesota, Missouri, North Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU, Texas State, Texas Tech, Tulane, ULM, Utah, UTSA, Washington State, Wyoming (24)
• Lakendrick VanZandt, Henderson, S, 6-1, 196 — committed to TCU; additional offers from Arkansas State, Houston, Memphis, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU, Tulane, Tulsa (8)
• Traveion Webster, Longview, S, 6-0, 197 — offer from ULM (1)