This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 5-star ATH Derrek Cooper of Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Florida. He ranks as the nation’s No. 2 ATH and the No. 30 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as a 4-star and as the No. 3 RB and No. 34 overall.
Derrek Cooper sat in the end zone at St. Augustine High School last weekend watching the OT7 finals.
The 5-star ATH was clad in Texas gear. He’d wear the colors and garb of another of his finalists on another day last weekend. Cooper wore a look that said he’d like to be out there, but at the same time wasn’t disappointed to just chill.
His legs were splayed out. His hands were behind him. Propping him like a tent. It seemed like he had a lot on his mind.
Cooper did have a lot to think about.
He had set a commitment date for this month, on July 12, but he has since scrapped that plan. The remaining timeline for Cooper feels ambiguous. Perhaps purposely so.
“I had just wanted to do it a week after everybody was committed,” Cooper said last weekend. “Everybody was committing on July 4 or July 5, so I just wanted to get it out there a little later.”
To be clear, his recruitment was still going to continue, regardless of which school he was set to commit to later this month.
“I’m going to commit,” he said. “But I’m not going to shut it down all the way. I still want to go see some other games.”
Who was it coming down to? Cooper said he had to strike Alabama off the list. That was after the Tide added 5-star RB Ezavier Crowell to their class.
“My final is Ohio State, Miami, Georgia, Texas and FSU,” he said.
How hard was it going to be for him to decide?
“It is very hard,” Cooper said. “Kinda stressing over it. But I just know God got me. I’m going to make the right decision.”
Cooper shared a common symptom during this time of his recruitment. He’s got the Back-and-forthitis. If there was such a thing.
“That’s it,” he said. “I’m up-and-down like that. That’s how it is going right now.”
He said that adds to the puzzle these days.
“It is stressful,” he said. “Because you have dreams about it, too. You have people telling you to go here and go there, but I’m just choosing with my heart and going where I want to go.”
There’s a lot of chatter out there with Cooper. There’s the widespread feeling (which we do not subscribe to) that his mother is the key decision-maker in his recruitment. Or that a huge NIL payday will be the remedy for his Back-and-forthitis right now.
There’s the buzz that his backyard Miami Hurricanes are the team to beat. Or that Texas is closing fast. They’re set to disappoint the “U” and a Georgia program that already saw him commit to the G briefly last summer.
What is really most important to him?
“Really, I just want to be taken care of,” Cooper said. “I just want to get to the next level. Play football. Be developed as best I can to the best of my ability. I just want to succeed. That’s all I want.”
He’s rated as an athlete by On3.com, but has been told he’ll be at RB by every program that is in serious contention. Cooper just wants to play the game with the ball in his hands, even though he could seriously be a high NFL Draft pick as a safety if that’s where his zeal for the game was.
What’s the feeling like with him about Georgia?
“I’ve built an amazing relationship with [running backs] Coach [Josh] Crawford and Coach [Kirby] Smart,” he said. “Just everybody there. Everybody there. It feels like family there, you know? It is great. They always stay in contact with me. Check up on me. Make sure I’m good.”
He said there is a trio of schools that he knows the most about.
“I know the most about Georgia, Miami and Ohio State,” Cooper said.
He said that he had all the questions answered about all of his top schools, including Georgia. Despite that, he’s still going to need more time.
The last time he was in Athens, he left the Classic City with this simple message from Smart.
“We want you bad,” Cooper said. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to get you.”
The Jae Lamar connection with Derrek Cooper
In our conversation, I was able to relay a recent conversation with Georgia RB commit Jae Lamar. After Lamar committed to UGA last week, he mentioned a name he wanted to see join him in the 2026 Georgia football class.
Cooper was asked to guess that name.
“Did he say me?” Cooper said with a look of expectation on his face. “Yeah, we talk on the phone almost every day. Just chilling. Chatting it up. Talking about life. How things are and what we are going to do with this senior season.”
“You know, that’s a great friend of mine. ”A cool friend of mine."
On his commitment day, Lamar outlined the plan Crawford and Smart have for both of them in the backfield.
“My boy Derrek Cooper,” Lamar said. “The running back. I want him to come in, and I want to have that double back special. I really want a trio back, but it’s okay. We can take the double back, but I really feel like Derrek Cooper and I would go in there and take over.”
Have you seen this week’s “Before the Hedges” weekly recruiting special on YouTube yet?
How did Georgia stack up seven commitments in seven days last week? DawgNation’s Kaylee Mansell has the story below:
SENTELL’S INTEL
(Check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
