Ty Cooper will be a part of Mississippi State University’s football team this coming fall. He is a current senior at Louisville High School in Louisville, Mississippi. His high school coach said he would be greatly missed as both a starting defensive end, as well as an overall leader to his teammates both on and off of the field.
Tyrone Shorter, Louisville High School’s head football coach, spoke highly of the senior he has been coaching for two and a half years, having come in to coach at the high school early in 2019.
“I’ve been blessed to have some really great players in my 23 years of coaching experience,” Head Coach Shorter said. “I’ve had a lot of great players to come through like Jeffery Simmons, and I put Ty right there at the top of the list with all of the great players I’ve seen.”
Cooper was signed as one of the finishing touches to Coach Mike Leach’s signing class for the upcoming season. His senior year of high school football has been an impressive one, totaling 112 tackles throughout the season. Leach said he has had an eye on this small town star for a while now.
“Ty has been a huge priority to us from the start,” Leach said in an athletics press release. “He is considered the top defensive line prospect in the state of Mississippi this year, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to the Bulldog Family.”
Cooper is a crowd favorite, both on and off the field. His high school coach spoke proudly of the relationship he shared with one of his star players, and he spoke even more highly of the studiousness and character that Ty Cooper has.
“It’s important for me to talk about the player that Mississippi State is getting off the field,” Head Coach Shorter said. “He’s a very good student first of all. He’s taking a lot of dual enrollment classes and will be almost a sophomore, I believe, by the time he gets to campus with all of those dual credit classes he’s been taking.”
Cooper’s high school coach said he only saw good things from Cooper in his off-field conduct as well. 
“He’s a leader on campus,” his coach said with pride evident in his voice. “I’ve been here for 2 1/2 years, and I’ve never seen him get in trouble. All the people like him; all the teachers like him. He’s just a people person.”
In an interview with The Reflector, Cooper shared his ambitions and excitements for being part of both the Bulldog team and family in Starkville.
“The decision process started when they first offered me a scholarship, and they treated me like family since day one,” Cooper said.
The Louisville senior said he was excited for the relational aspect of his MSU experience as well.
“I’m looking to meet new people while I’m there and just make good memories,” Cooper said.
The potential Leach sees in the young player is echoed in the words of his current coach, Tyrone Shorter.
“To Mississippi State, he will bring that leadership that he had here but also that explosiveness he has as a player and his knowledge of the game,” Shorter shared. “I mean, look at the defensive ends and defensive lines that have come through MSU in these past 10 years. Ty fits that mold.”