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New Oregon State head coach Trent Bray's staff is beginning to take shape as the Beavers hired Sacramento State's linebackers coach AJ Cooper for the same role in Corvallis with OSU.
It's a quick return to Corvallis for Cooper who served as a defensive graduate assistant for the Beavers in 2022.
Oregon State's defense limited opponents to just 108.2 yards per game (led the Pac-12) and ranked 15th in the FBS. Linebacker Omar Speights was named to the all-Pac-12 first team while Jaydon Grant was a second-team selection as a defensive back.
After spending a year with the Beavers, Cooper received a full-time linebackers coach position with Sacramento State where he helped the Hornets have an extremely productive season from the linebacking corps as seniors Armond Bailey and Brock Mather finished 1st and 3rd in total tackles for the Hornets. Bailey finished first-team all-Big Sky in 2023 and was third in the conference for total tackles with 97 tackles.
Before joining Oregon State in 2022, Cooper was a graduate assistant at Central Washington from 2019-21. He helped cornerback Tyren Sams who was named Div: II All-American, all-region, and all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The Las Vegas native played collegiately at Southern Oregon from 2014-19, redshirting his first season before becoming a four-year starter at cornerback, finishing with 198 tackles and nine interceptions. Cooper was also a part of two NAIA Championship teams in 2014 and 2015...
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