Post by rkozak201 on Apr 25, 2008 5:19:44 GMT -5
Reading Eagle: Ben Hasty
Ian Cooper is back with the Express after stints with the Lehigh Valley Outlawz and the Baltimore Mariners.
After starting the season with Baltimore and then moving on to the Lehigh Valley Outlawz, Ian Cooper, a Reading High grad, returns to the Express. He’s expected to play tonight.
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
Now that Ian Cooper is back where he belongs, he can smile again.
After two solid seasons as a wide receiver for the Reading Express, Cooper suddenly was gone.
Details of the Reading High grad’s departure still aren’t totally clear. Cooper terms it a “miscommunication on both sides.”
After a short stint with the Lehigh Valley Outlawz of the Continental Indoor Football League didn’t work out, Cooper ironically started the 2008 season in Reading.
However, he was playing for the Baltimore Mariners.
“It was really weird,” Cooper said. “It just didn’t seem right. I kind of felt like I should have been back with Reading.”
Cooper, who had more than 120 receptions last year while helping the Express reach the American Indoor Football Association title game, is back with the Express.
He is expected to suit up for the first time this season tonight when the Express (4-2) plays the Canton Legends (0-5) at 7:05 at the Sovereign Center.
“Coming out of the tunnel is going to be emotional,” Cooper said. “I’m glad to be back on the field for the right team this time.”
Cooper returned to the Express two weeks ago but hasn’t been placed on 20-player active roster for a game.
A hamstring injury to three-year starter Shawn Foxworth is likely to provide Cooper the opportunity to get some playing time tonight along with Carmelo Ocasio, Jeff Willis and Terrance Hudson.
“Coop in the last two weeks here has looked real good,” Express coach/general manager Bernie Nowotarski said. “He runs good patterns; he catches the ball; he’s a good team player; and he’s blending back in.”
Cooper, along with a handful of other players, left the Express after the 2007 season and went to Lehigh Valley, where former Reading offensive lineman Greg Justice was hired as head coach.
Cooper said his first choice would have been to return to the Express. Nowotarski said he wasn’t made aware of Cooper’s desire.
“There wasn’t a lot of communication when it happened so there were some hurt feelings,” Nowotarski said. “We’re all grown men. We’ve gotten over those.”
Cooper, who played in three games for Baltimore, said all the pain faded after he was released by the Mariners and signed with Express. It also ended a series of trips from Reading to Baltimore for practices and games.
“With all the stuff that went on in the offseason, the day I walked out of the office after I signed a contract was the first time I actually had a smile on my face,” Cooper said. “It felt right; it felt good. It’s kind of where I belonged.”
Although their differences have been put in the past, Nowotarski said he offered Cooper no guarantees about playing time. When Foxworth and former Central Catholic grad Yardon Brantley return from injuries, the wide receiver picture will be crowded.
“He basically came in at the bottom of the lineup,” Nowotarski said.
Which is fine with Cooper, who had to prove himself to get playing time in the early part of the Express’ inaugural season in 2006.
“You’ve just got to come out and catch the ball and make some plays,” said Cooper, who scored five touchdowns in one game last season. “I’m trying to re-learn the system because I’ve been away for a while. I’m just trying to get back in there.”
•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.