Cooley named top Aggie athlete
Utah Statesman: What does it mean to you to be named the Utah State Athlete of the Week?
Chris Cooley: It’s a great honor. I’ve never been Athlete of the Week before for Utah State so I’m really proud. I played really hard.
US: Arizona State Head Coach Dirk Koetter called you the guy to watch in Utah State’s offense. How do you feel about an opposing coach saying that?
CC: It’s good to know that coaches can recognize that I’ll make plays against their team. It’s nice to be feared by someone else’s defense.
US: Koetter also said he thinks you’ll be playing in the NFL soon. Is that a goal of yours?
CC: Yeah, it is a goal of mine. When I first got here it was kind of a far goal, but it’s always been in my mind. It’s really getting close now, I played well in two big games. I’d just like to go as high as I can go.
US: Why did you choose to play at Utah State?
CC: It’s home. I’m from Logan. I really only got playing time my senior year [in high school] so I never had an opportunity to get recruited by out-of-state schools, and I don’t like BYU and Utah at all. I’ve grown up an Aggie fan, I wanted to be at home and I wanted to play for the Aggies.
US: What does it mean to you to play in front of your hometown crowd?
CC: It’s great. I love our first home game. I love all my family and my friends in the stands. I know so many people know me and are cheering for me down on the field and it really makes me play with a lot of energy and a lot of fire. I want to impress them.
US: What are your goals for the season?
CC: I’d like to average 15 yards per catch. I know that I’m not going to catch a lot of balls that are at 15 yards, so I’m going to have to earn the yards. After about five or six yards, I’ll have to make a few plays. That’s one thing that’s important to me.
Another goal is to play hard through every play, to never stop in the middle of a play, to never give up on a play and dominate the person I’m playing against.
US: Talk about being on the Mackey Award watch list for best tight end in the country.
CC: It’s nice to know that I actually am recognized, that I’m on the map as one of the better tight ends. Hopefully, I’ll have a really good season and even if I don’t win it, maybe I’ll be in the top three or four. That would be really important to me.
US: What’s the highlight of your career so far?
CC: Right now, I would say the Troy State game. In overtime, I caught three balls for like 40 yards and getting our game into overtime I caught two passes for 30 yards. That was really great for me because I know that I helped our team win.
Another highlight of my career was the Hail Mary against New Mexico. I felt like I played a great game. Our whole team played a great game and came back and we made the best play that I’ve ever been a part of.
-royburton@cc.usu.edu