Indiana Football WR Omar Cooper Jr. Full-Go for Rose Bowl After 'Very Hard' Injury

PASADENA, Calif. — Sitting at a table Tuesday morning in the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles, Indiana football receiver Omar Cooper Jr. donned a white hoodie with the Rose Bowl logo stamped overtop.

For Cooper, who arrived in Bloomington in 2022 and won seven games in his first two seasons, the bright Pasadena lights — and the No. 1 Hoosiers' looming Rose Bowl bout with No. 9 Alabama at 4 p.m. ET Jan. 1 — pose a surreal contrast to the program he'd entered, and endured through, early in his college career.

"I tell my teammates this all the time, just the transformation that has happened in two years has been crazy," Cooper told Indiana Hoosiers On SI. "And just seeing how things have changed drastically in two years, it's just been amazing to be a part of. I'm grateful to just be a part of this team and grateful God allowed me to be in this position."

Cooper will, indeed, participate in the Hoosiers' first Rose Bowl appearance since 1968. The redshirt junior suffered a right leg injury in the first quarter of Indiana's 13-10 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 6.

The 6-foot, 204-pound Cooper said he came down wrong, and something felt off. He limped back to Indiana's sideline without putting weight on his leg and eventually made multiple trips into the Hoosiers' medical tent. He tried to go back out and did all he could, he said, but he never returned to the field.

Midway through the second quarter, Cooper sat alone on the Hoosiers' bench, no helmet in sight, watching as Indiana's offense marched downfield against Ohio State.

That night in Indianapolis was bittersweet for Cooper, a Lawrence North High School product who grew up rooting for the Buckeyes. He savored Indiana's victory, which secured the program's first conference championship since 1967.

But Cooper naturally battled his own pain and disappointment from an uncontrollable injury that robbed him of the chance to play more than six snaps on the largest stage of his young career.

"It was very hard," Cooper said. "Just playing against the school that used to be my favorite team growing up, and then playing them in the Big Ten Championship at home, it was very hard. I was really excited to play in my hometown where I grew up at, then just playing against a team of that altitude.

"Watching it was hard, but just seeing my brothers go out there and compete and win made it very special for me, even though I wasn't playing. And I was just grateful to be a part of something like that."

Cooper, who leads the Hoosiers with 58 catches for 804 yards and is second on the team with 11 receiving touchdowns, said he only just returned to full health within the past week.

"It was just when I started practicing, getting back into it," Cooper said. "I was limited, but this past week was the best for me when I got back available."

Top-seeded Indiana waited 12 days after the Big Ten title game to learn its opponent between No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama. The Hoosiers practiced, but they focused on rest and recovery. Cooper may have benefitted more than anyone.

Now, Cooper enters Thursday's Rose Bowl as a full-go participant — a significant bonus for the Hoosiers' offense.

"He knew the role he had to step into this year of being the guy, and he's exceeded it," senior receiver Elijah Sarratt said Saturday. "But like, I tell people this all the time, I expect nothing else from Coop. The sky's the limit for Coop. He's one of the best receivers, best football players on this team.

"So for him to come into this year, this year, and do what he does, it's amazing to see. And I continue to expect Coop to be great for years from now, going into the NFL as well."

But any questions about Cooper's future — he graduated in December but has one season of eligibility remaining — will have to wait.

The Indianapolis native knew Indiana could reach Rose Bowl heights last season, when coach Curt Cignetti took the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff in his first year after inheriting a group that went 3-9.

But once Indiana beat Iowa and Oregon on the road earlier this season, Cooper knew the Hoosiers had the ingredients for a special season. The onus, he said, fell on the players to compete and avoid complacency each week. They've done that.

"That's just when I was able to know, like, 'Okay, we got a chance to make a good run this year,'" Cooper said.

The run starts Thursday — and Cooper, just under four weeks after hobbling off the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, will be ready to sprint in The Granddaddy of Them All.