Omar Cooper Jr. didn't truly learn how to win until Curt Cignetti arrived at Indiana. A former four-star recruit from Indianapolis, Cooper took a chance on the Hoosiers at their lowest point. Seven combined wins in his first two seasons, 2022 and 2023, forced him to wonder if he made the right decision for his career.
Then Tom Allen was fired. Then Cignetti was hired. And the rest, as they say, is history.
But Cooper was never a shoo-in to help lead Indiana's rise to the top. His true freshman and redshirt freshman seasons showed flashes of what he might become, but his stats were largely empty as IU struggled to win in spite of its talented, young receiver waiting to emerge. Eighteen total catches across Cooper's first two years pointed to major development still being necessary.
That's when Cignetti, along with offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Mike Shanahan, came to town. Cooper never entered the transfer portal following the coaching change, instead sticking it out at his home-state school with hopes of a fresh start and new mentorship guiding Cooper toward his full potential.
"My freshman year, sophomore year, it wasn't the best of seasons, but it all happened for a reason," Cooper said Friday at the NFL Combine. "I was able to get Coach Cig and learn a routine. He eats the same food every day, and just that routine works for him. So needing a routine that'll help me just stay focused and also just how to win, what it takes to win, that was something I learned a lot as well."
There may not be a holdover from IU's previous coaching regime who benefitted more from the coaching change than Cooper. From 2023 to 2024, he exploded from a seldom-targeted rotational receiver to arguably Indiana's most potent offensive playmaker. In just one year, 18 receptions became 28 receptions, 267 yards became 594, and two total touchdowns became eight.
Cignetti and Shanahan immediately saw the value in Cooper, so much so that he cracked the inaugural starting lineup in 2024. The 6-foot, 207-pounder started opposite of Elijah Sarratt on the outside, making room for the likes of Myles Price and Ke'Shawn Williams in the slot. It was a fruitful pairing, but one that perhaps didn't maximize Cooper's skill set.
So in 2025, Indiana and Cooper switched it up.
The Hoosiers prioritized getting their best three receivers on the field, and to open the season that meant Sarratt and E.J. Williams Jr. handled the outside pass-catching. But Cooper also needed a spot in the offense. The solution: put Cooper in the slot.
It was a role Cooper had little experience with prior to last season. Even dating back to his star-making days at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Cooper played almost exclusively at outside receiver.
"My whole career I played outside until this year," Cooper said. "This year it was just me trying to understand (playing in the slot) and just how different it is from the outside. My coach, Mike Shanahan, did a really good job of teaching me and helping me grow in that area."
The game seemed to come easier for Cooper once he settled into his new role — almost as if he was born to play slot receiver without ever knowing it. There was an adjustment period, certainly, but playing inside seemed to suit Cooper's abilities the best.
Next came the true breakout season, which unraveled so quickly. One moment Cooper was viewed as a sturdy foundational piece with another year of eligibility remaining, and nine months later he's skyrocketing up 2026 NFL Draft boards and could be selected as early as the first round.
That's what happens when you turn in a team-leading 69 catches, 937 yards and 14 total touchdowns for the reigning national champions. Add in an All-Big Ten Second Team selection, the first of Cooper's career, and Cooper's NFL stock surged with each prolific week.
"He's a dog, man. You see it, he puts it on tape every day," IU wide receiver Elijah Sarratt said. "He's a great man. That's one of my better friends, we're real close. You're going to get a player who wants to get better every single day, who wants to be great in the NFL. Any team that gets Omar Cooper, they're going to be very happy with him."
Cooper has become one of the more fascinating receiver prospects in this year's draft class, a sentiment shared among many draft analysts and gaining steam in recent weeks. His experience playing both outside and slot means enhanced positional value for prospective NFL teams, and given Cooper's demonstrated yards-after-catch ability, more and more teams are taking a hard look at him as a potential first-rounder.
"The body control he has is crazy," IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza said. "He's like a prime Deebo Samuel... He has great body control, great hands, can play any position on the field. To have him as a receiver that can be a gadget guy, can also take it deep, and also great routes and hands, especially for the quarterback, he helped make me this year."
Added IU safety Louis Moore: "He's explosive. He's fast with the ball in his hands, too. So you got to stay true to your technique when you're guarding Omar. He don't got too many tips to his game."
Cooper said he's not a fan of player comparisons, believing that each player is unique in their own way. So those Deebo Samuel analogies, while he's heard and seen them throughout the pre-draft process, Cooper isn't putting much thought into the validity.
In a soft-spoken, laid-back way, Cooper is seemingly content with running his own race at his own pace. That's how he operated throughout his Indiana career, and it's how he's choosing to approach the uncertainty of NFL Draft season.
So whichever franchise ultimately submits Cooper's name card in late April, the message from Cooper to his new fanbase is quite simple.
"Showing how passionate and loving I am toward this game," Cooper said. "Someone who dedicates football over almost everything. Just a guy that will do whatever it takes to help my team win, whether that's getting my running backs a long run or whether that's making a play intermediate or downfield."