Inside The Panthers

WATCH: Pitt Center Lyndon Cooper Mic'd Up

The latest 'Mic'd Up' video segment features the Pitt Panthers' starting center Lyndon Cooper.
Kevin Sinclair|
Sep 14, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Pittsburgh Panthers helmet sits on a training table against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; A Pittsburgh Panthers helmet sits on a training table against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

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The Pitt Panthers media team churned out the first Mic'd Up video segment on March 22, featuring defensive line coach Tim Daoust leading his unit through spring camp.

This time, it was a returning starter who was tracked through a recent practice for the popular series.

"Once you put on them shoulder pads and a helmet, I know it's like a (switch flips) for me," Pitt starting center Lyndon Cooper said at the outset of the video (shown below). "I honestly love the contact of football."

Coming up in a substantial Georgia high school program, Carrollton, Cooper initially took his talents to N.C. State, spending 2021 through 2023 with the Wolfpack. Once he transferred into Pittsburgh, he grabbed the starting center job, and ran away with it.

Cooper returns for his fifth collegiate season as a leader in the middle of the offensive line, flanked by newcomers from the transfer portal; a guard from Eastern Michigan and two tackles out of Michigan and Charlotte.

“Keith (Gouveia), he's playing left guard right now," Cooper said during a press conference last week. "Jeff (Persi), he's playing a little left tackle. Kendall (Stanley), he's playing some left tackle and right tackle,” Cooper said. 

“Honestly, them boys already know a little bit of ball. So, me, just letting them know where our communication is, make sure they're on the same pages with us, and just making sure they understand our culture here at Pitt.”

“Those three guys that came in, they came in with experience, and they understand the game. They understand football,” Cooper added. “So, like I said, it's more than just understanding our culture and our lingo as an O-Line, but having those guys come in is definitely a big improvement on our O-Line. I feel like our gel as an O-Line is more complete...We've got some depth to the line now.”

Cooper is a key piece of the puzzle in front of returning quarterback Eli Holstein and star running back Desmond Reid.

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Kevin Sinclair
KEVIN SINCLAIR

Kevin Sinclair writes coverage of the Pitt Panthers along with the Baltimore Ravens, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Tennessee Titans for On SI. Previously, he was a recruiting reporter and managing editor at Irish Illustrated, the privately-owned Notre Dame site within the 247Sports Network, for over seven-and-a-half years. Kevin studied multimedia journalism and has been a sports writer for nearly a decade.

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