This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 5-star Derrek Cooper. He ranks as the nation’s No. 3 ATH and the No. 24 overall prospect for 2026 on the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the No. 2 RB and at No. 24 overall nationally.
Want to know what big-time recruiting still sounds like? There’s a soundtrack to it whenever 5-star Derrek Cooper gets back to Athens.
It starts when he crosses the door or is greeted on the way in.
“Coooooppppp.“
“Wassup, Coop?”
“Cooppppeeeerrrrr.”
That’s everywhere.
“It just feels like home because everybody knows ‘Coop’ and you know when we walk in the door, it is ‘Coop’ and ‘Mom’ and it is not just the coaches,” his mother, Tonya Brinson, said. “It is the administrators. The assistants. The people who drive you around. Everybody knows ‘Cooper’ so it feels like home.”
“It is like home.”
That was the vibe in Athens this past weekend for their fourth visit to assess a potential future at Georgia. That recruiting charge has been led by head coach Kirby Smart and now running backs coach Josh Crawford.
Cooper brought up that connection while discussing what was different about this trip. He said it was getting to interact with the staff again. But on a deeper level.
“It feels like family,” Cooper told DawgNation. “Almost seems like a family. The people there are very good. They are very nice. They know how to develop people and we got to go into that and stuff. It was just great.”
Crawford has also built a rapport with Brinson.
“Crawford knows Derrek and his weaknesses,” Brinson said. “He watches his film and lets him know what he needs to work on.”
Cooper weighed in with 210 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame over the weekend. That’s a five-pound gain from his junior season, but he carries that very well.
What was the message from Georgia this weekend? Well, there was a lot to chronicle there:
- “I’m a three-down back,” he said of the messaging from Crawford and Kirby Smart,” Cooper said. “I can do it all. Catch out of the backfield. Run downhill. That’s what they are looking for in their backs.”
- “My favorite part was just talking to Coach Smart and interacting with him,” Cooper said. “He’s just a very great coach. He develops people in going to the NFL and that’s what I am looking for in a coach.”
- “Definitely the offense,” his mother, Tonya Brinson, said when asked about her favorite part. ‘We were able to meet with each coach and get a feel of what they do. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. We met with special teams coaches. Obviously, Crawford. We met with a lot of the offensive staff. I loved that about that. So I could get to know what they do.”
- “Also, what was different at this, was when they had all the coaches in one room,” she continued. “Offense and defense. They were able to introduce themselves. Tell where they came from. If they played in the NFL and any college ball and how long they have been at Georgia. I loved that. So I can educate myself and see how long these coaches have been there and how they love Georgia. I definitely loved that. That was most important and different when we visited on “Junior Day” that we didn’t get that before the other times we went.”
- “I definitely feel like a priority,” Cooper said. “Speaking with coach Crawford, he stays on me. Wants to get me there. Just yeah, I feel like a priority.”
- “They never stop,” his mother added. “They never stop getting in contact and building a relationship. From day one, when Kirby offered Derrek it has just been continuing from there with Coach Crawford. Non-stop. The relationship is definitely there.”
Cooper is one of the best players in the country. Regardless of position. He’s that rare athlete who could be an ALL-SEC player on offense or defense. Watch him at defensive back. The tape flashes that he could be an impact freshman at the “Star” of the safety positions.
He’s been playing running back since he was nine years old, but has only started to play DB as a sophomore in high school at Chaminade-Madonna in South Florida.
That skill set has led to some intrigue with his rankings.
The 5-star ATH (247Sports Composite) is rated at RB by some of the national services. Rivals lists him as the nation’s No. 1 all-purpose back. 247Sports ranks him as an ATH. On3 rates him as a running back.
Where does Georgia see him in the program?
“I could do mostly running back,” Cooper said. “They are recruiting me as a running back but sometimes I could go on defense and help out if I need to.”
Crawford has put in the time here.
“I just keep building a relationship with him and it is a great bond with him,” Cooper said. “Every time I meet with him, he’s always cool.”
That’s intriguing. What does he want to play in college? Cooper is talented enough to choose which side of the ball he wants to play in college.
“Running back sounds good,” Cooper said. “I’ve been doing it my whole life,” he said. “I’ve been getting well developed there. So, I like running back. It’s fun, too.”
That mirrors what he’s been hearing from all the other schools, too.
“Every school like that has said I could play either offense or defense,” he said.
What does he like best about UGA now?
“Their development.”
Cooper has set his official visit to UGA for June 13-15. Cooper and his mother Tonya Brinson said they already know the following schools will get officials:
- Alabama
- Auburn
- Georgia
- Miami
- Ohio State
It sounds like other programs are in consideration. What are the big things he’s looking for in the right school?
“Development,” he said. “Relationships with coaches. The coaching staff. Relationships with the head coach, too. That’s in case my position coach leaves. I will still have that relationship with the head coach. Academics. That’s really much it.”
Does Smart fit that? What would it be like to play for the two-time national championship coach at UGA?
“It would be amazing,” Cooper said. “Just learning under him. Taking up under his wing. He played for Georgia. He was under coach [Nick] Saban [at Alabama] so that’s a lot to learn from a guy like that.”
What comes next for Derrek Cooper?
The 5-star said he plans to return to Athens to watch spring practice and then for his official in June, for a total of six trips.
Cooper first came up for a practice last spring. The second visit was for a summer camp and he worked out. The first gameday was last fall for the Tennesssee game.
“It was crazy,” Cooper said. “There was a lot of screaming. A lot of yelling. After that game, I went home with a headache. It was a great game.”
Brinson was there for that night, too. The only other game she could compare it to was the scene last fall from the Texas-Texas A&M game.
“The fans were crazy,” she said of that UGA gameday. “Like we’d never seen that before and It was at night. It was definitely a great experience we’d never seen, but we were able to experience that night game.”
“Every play they were screaming. It was crazy.”
The focus now is on sorting out their officials and eventually making a decision. First, they need to continue their research. The timeline for a public commitment decision is still up in the air.
“Really don’t know yet,” Cooper said. “I’m still trying to narrow it down and figure it out.”
Cooper was briefly committed to UGA last summer, but he went public with that before consulting his family. The news broke while he was at an OT7 prospect camp. His mother, Tonya, was asleep when it happened and his other brother came in and told her it had happened.
When he makes his final decision, his mother said last summer she hopes it will be more of a “family” decision than an impulse decision. “He learned that when you make a move, you need to discuss it with your Mom,” Tonya Brinson told DawgNation last June. “Period.”
They did not leave Athens this weekend with anything left unsaid. Or any questions.
“We got everything,” Brinson said. “They definitely answered questions when we were there. We know a lot about Georgia. We definitely have been educating ourselves.”
Check out Cooper’s junior film below. That first play will capture one’s attention. So will the rest.
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)