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LEHI — It’s been quite the year for Lehi star quarterback Cammon Cooper.
And the summer's just getting started.
The 17-year-old signal caller recently committed to Washington State, and he’s been making the rounds on the recruiting circuit while preparing to compete for MVP honors at the prestigious Elite 11 in Oregon next week.
But Cooper isn’t the only one benefitting from that honor.
“It’s great just knowing that I am one of the top 12, with guys who are huge names around the country,” Cooper told KSL Sports after a 7-on-7 session at Lehi High School. “It’s really cool.”
The Elite 11 is the nation’s premiere quarterback competition, and Cooper is a premiere quarterback. But he's not the only one benefitting from the summer circuit.
“He’s obviously the best I’ve had at the high school level,” Lehi coach Ed Larson said. “But the potential for what he can be down the road is limitless.”
The future Cougar (Washington State Cougars, that is) has already put himself in rare company nationally. But he had some help at the Elite 11 finals — his teammate Kade Moore came along as one of Cooper’s go-to receivers at the competition.
“It was really cool, having him out there with the chemistry we had,” Cooper said of Moore. “We’ve been playing together since sixth grade.”
Moore, whose recruiting interest was waning prior to the invitation, also picked up a new nickname.
“Kids were just calling me ‘Utah,’ some of them didn’t know my name,” he said. “I was the only kid from Utah other than Cam, and that was my name.”
More people have heard of Kade now, though. The senior took advantage of one opportunity, and he’s getting several looks from colleges that were scouting Cooper.
“He doesn’t have the 6-foot-3 frame, so this has been a great opportunity for him,” Larson said.
When players like Cooper get national recognition, the benefits create additional opportunities for his teammates and other high school players in the state.
Big schools around the country are paying more and more attention to Utah.
“We’ve had Georgia, Alabama and other teams that don’t normally get to Utah come in and have a chance to see (Cooper),” Larson said, “and that means they are watching the state of Utah play football.”
