‘Quarterback from Nowhere’ sparks Pirates

Trey Cooper senses when a defender would rather not hit him.

His football antenna was raised thus as the Modesto Junior College Pirates opened the season last month against American River College. A Beavers linebacker took on Cooper, the Pirates’ strapping quarterback, for a pads-to-pads blow early in the game. But presented with another chance later, the defender hesitated.

Cooper, 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, lives for such moments.

“I love it because they’re not expecting it,” he said. “When I hit them, their eyes get big. They don’t like to go head-up with me. (The linebacker) did it once and didn’t do it again the rest of the game. I take it as a compliment.”

Cooper carries himself on the field like a take-charge sheriff in a black-and-white western. Though he’s always targeted by the defense, he prefers doing the targeting. He likes the contact. Correction: He loves the contact.

Since he assumed control of the MJC offense – nine games and seven starts bridging the 2014 and ’15 seasons – Cooper has rushed for 15 touchdowns and passed for 13. The Pirates, 5-2 since he took over, are 3-1 entering Saturday night’s home game against traditional power San Francisco City College.

But equally significant, it’s his swashbuckling style – bulling over linemen and linebackers – that has both shocked and impressed fans, coaches and teammates.

Because no one, not even the coaching staff, knew he could be such a difference maker. If his life was made into a movie, it would be titled, “The Quarterback from Nowhere.”

Cooper’s emergence was, in the words of former MJC coach Sam Young, “the most amazing thing I’ve seen in 40 years of football.”

How did everyone miss such a precocious, unique talent? A quarterback who enjoys delivering the blows? A guy who had walked away from the team and wasn’t even listed on the roster at the start of the 2014 season?

“Trey might have been evaluated unfairly because he was lacking in quarterback experience,” first-year MJC coach Rusty Stivers said. “He lacked experience, he was inconsistent with his participation and was out of shape. He had no pedigree.”

It goes much deeper.

Cooper has played football, but rarely at quarterback, since age 7. He made two unsuccessful starts at QB as a junior at Enochs High and, as a senior, started as a wide receiver though he was Shawn Munoz’s backup at QB.

“Trey has put on some pounds and muscle since high school,” said Munoz, who’s nursing a foot injury at MJC. “He’s always had a strong arm.”

In 2013, Cooper didn’t see action as MJC’s No. 2 quarterback behind Teejay Gordon. Cooper’s hope and commitment slipped in the spring of 2014, however, and he eventually didn’t see a future at MJC. His weight ballooned from 180 pounds at Enochs to about 240 with the Pirates. He showed none of that trademark physicality in practice.

“I always had the dream to play college football, but I never thought it would come true. I thought I’d be a tight end or something,” Cooper said. “Coach Stivers told me in 2014 I could be the No. 3 quarterback and be on the kick return team. That’s not something I wanted to do.”

Cooper spent his time away from the team reshaping his body, thanks partly to MJC assistant coach and weight training supervisor Brett Butler. Meanwhile, the quarterback situation at MJC spun sideways. The Pirates, victimized by injuries and attrition, were forced to start wide receiver Embry Allen Jr. at quarterback at San Francisco and were thumped 66-29.

Stivers, the offensive coordinator last year, dialed Cooper in a 911 call for help. He discovered a young man who hoped for that call but was too stubborn to make it himself.

“My parents told me to come back (to the team), but I said no,” Cooper said. “I was very grateful that coach Stivers called. I was just too stubborn.”

Cooper rushed for a touchdown during the rout at CCSF, but his confidence grew. In his first start – a 35-28 loss in overtime to Chabot – he passed for three touchdowns and rushed for one. Better still, he engineered the Pirates’ fast-paced offense without a hitch while flattening startled linebackers and defensive backs.

“I’ve been blocking for him for a long time. He’s a great guy, a tough guy,” said MJC sophomore tackle Niles Graham, one of Cooper’s teammates at Enochs. “He gives us juice, especially when you see him run over a linebacker. It makes you want to put a guy on his back.”

When Cooper accounted for three touchdowns in Modesto’s 49-42 upset win over Fresno – MJC’s first victory over the Rams in 16 years – the QB job belonged to him. For an exclamation point, he rushed for 203 yards and five touchdowns and passed for an additional two TDs during the Pirates’ 73-28 cakewalk over Delta.

One year later, he’s still inspiring his team, ranked No. 7 in California.

“Having a quarterback who can run and be physical changes the dynamic of your offense,” Stivers said. “You can say he’s the prototype quarterback of what we’re looking for. They’re hard to find.”

Cooper owns his special skill set, one that few recognized until last year.

“I’m taking the blame for it (not developing sooner),” said Cooper, whose brother, Jake, is a catcher in the Chicago White Sox organization after starring at MJC. “I didn’t present myself as a quarterback. I was 240 pounds. No one wants a 240-pound quarterback. I looked horrible standing on the sideline. It was embarrassing. That’s when I lost the weight and gained it back but in a good way. When I got the opportunity, I showed I could play.”

Cooper thanked many people, from his parents to Butler to Stivers, for his transformation from nonentity to one of the most surprising success stories in recent MJC history.

“I finally got a grip on things and bought into the philosophy. I focused on being a good person and good teammate,” he said. “Once I got my chance, I knew I would excel. (Stivers) gave me that chance, and here I am.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 6:44 PM with the headline "‘Quarterback from Nowhere’ sparks Pirates."