VIDEO: NDSU All Access with assistant coach AJ Cooper
AJ Cooper begins his eighth season with the North Dakota State University coaching staff, his fifth as defensive ends coach. He has worked with the offensive line and tight ends as a student assistant and graduate assistant with the program.
Cooper, who also is the program’s camp and clinic director, was part of a NDSU staff that boasted the nation’s top scoring defense (11.53 ppg) in 2012, and also led the country in total defense (234.47 avg/g) and first downs allowed (12.67 avg/g). The Bison ranked 2nd in pass defense (140.6 avg/g), 4th in rush defense (93.87 avg/g), 9th in turnover margin (+1.00 avg/g) and 17th in pass efficiency defense (113.67). The Bison defense allowed only 43 points in four FCS playoff games.
North Dakota State won the program’s second straight NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national championship on Jan. 5, 2013, with a 39-13 win over Sam Houston State. The Bison completed the season with a 14-1 record including a 7-1 ledger in winning the Missouri Valley Football Conference title.
A 2006 graduate of NDSU, Cooper earned honorable mention Football Gazette Division I-AA All-America honors at tight end for the Bison in 2005. He caught 24 passes for 473 yards (19.7 ypr) and four touchdowns as a senior.
Cooper, who earned first team all-Great West Football Conference all-Northwest Region honors, signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers in 2006 and received an extended look at training camp.
A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Cooper transferred to North Dakota State from Glendale Community College. He caught 44 passes for 578 yards and eight TDs to lead all JUCO tight ends in each category.
AJ was married in August 2010 to former NDSU women’s basketball player Amanda Girodat. The couple have a son, Carter Johnson.
