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2023 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Kooper Reece, OL, University of Nebraska-Kearney

Kooper Reece the big offensive lineman from the University of Nebraska-Kearney recently sat down wiwth NFL Draft Diamonds writer Justin Berendzen
Kooper Reece the big offensive lineman from the University of Nebraska-Kearney recently sat down with NFL Draft Diamonds writer Justin Berendzen
  • Name: Kooper Reece
  • Position: OL
  • College: University of Nebraska-Kearney
  • Height: 6’5″
  • Weight: 310 lbs
  • Twitter: @k_reece745
  • Instagram: @diesel_745

What made you decide you wanted to be a football player?

Growing up in a small town it’s just a part of life, as a kid you go and watch those high school games waiting for it to be your turn. Then you start watching college ball and you dream about making it to the next level. So it’s always been an aspiration of mine. Once I got a taste of what football is about. I fell in love with every aspect of it. Even when I was younger I wanted to be able to look back at my career and smile knowing that I gave it everything and had no regrets.

If you could hang out with any football player past or present for a day who and why?

Probably Rob Gronkowski, he seems like a fun guy to be around but is also one of the best to ever play the game. Just having that balance of an exciting social life and being a great player is very appealing.

What are your favorite moments from your football life?

For the most part this past season was maybe the most memorable I’ve been a part of. It was a rollercoaster of emotions from the start. Our first game was delayed until like 11 at night. Then you have everything from comebacks to last second wins. And finally getting to go to the playoffs was something I’ll remember forever. To me, getting our seniors into the postseason was a big deal. Those guys were around when winning games were few and far between. It’s just the idea of them putting their lives on hold for one more season to help turn this program around.

What type of energy do you bring onto the football field?

I’m not the kind of guy to be screaming and shouting trying to get people hyped up. I tend to let my actions and work ethic display my energy. I tend to be more of an old school type of guy so I’m gonna try to get the defender on the ground anyway possible, and I’ve kinda developed an intimidating persona because of that. I guess just the physicality that I play with brings its own energy that others feed off of.

What are your favorite things about playing football for Nebraska-Kearney?

I’d say first and foremost the bond that we’ve developed here is unmatched. We have guys from all over with all different backgrounds coming to the middle of Nebraska working day after day to do something great. And aside from that our coaches care about us on a personal level, they see us as more than just players, they’re trying to develop us into respectable men as well. Also the community around Kearney is great. We have them out watching practice, making the trip to away games and showing up in full office for our home games. It’s awesome to have a community like this behind us constantly supporting what we’re doing. And finally just experiencing game days across the MIAA is electrifying. The level of athletes paired with the stadium atmospheres across this conference are arguably the best at this level.

What should we know about Kooper Reece the person?

I’m a pretty simple guy to be honest. I value other people based on their reliability and integrity so in turn I hold myself to high standards when it comes to stuff like that. Im also a very loyal person, and I feel like in today’s game and life in general showing that commitment towards something goes a long way.

What is a moment that improved you as a football player?

As weird as this seems, the COVID season I believe is where I made my biggest jump as a player. I was going to be playing next to a new guard so I needed to learn the offense better just to elevate our knowledge and experience on the offensive line. It was also about that time that the physical aspect came to me. I understood our schemes better and the game slowed way down which allowed me to play faster and with more confidence.

What is your favorite offensive scheme and why?

I would probably say inside zone. There’s multiple variations of how to block it but at the end of the day it’s downhill between the tackles football. We run 4 or so other schemes but inside zone is what we, as an offensive line, pride ourselves on because it’s simple and a great way to set the tone up front.

How do you handle challenges both in life and on the football field?

I’m a pretty laid back guy when it comes to facing challenges. I like to just go with the flow and control what I can control. When something under my control doesn’t go according to plan I take a step back to analyze what went wrong and work to correct it. During practice I try to think on the fly as much as possible because when you’re in a game you have to find quick solutions.

What would a team get in a player like you?

They’d get a player that’s willing to do whatever it takes to better the team. Playing on the offensive line, we don’t get much recognition, so we have to be very selfless individuals. That’s an aspect that I’ve learned to accept, that much of any teams success stems from a good offensive line. I take losing very personal but it also makes me want to work harder and invest more time into the team to right the ship.

What are you looking forward to in your upcoming season?

The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is putting our off-season work on display. We have a chance to do something great here and the way we’ve been working the past few months just makes me excited to get back on the field. I’m also excited to see how I’ve evolved as a player and leader over the past year.

Who is the most underrated player you’ve played with and why?

I would say Cody Nelson, he’s one of the best receivers we have on the team. He doesn’t get a lot of recognition cause we don’t pass a lot, but he’s always a guy we can turn to on the perimeter when we need a big play. He’s kind of a jack of all trades, he’ll make the contested catches or take the top off the defense, but he’s also a physical blocker which makes our offense really excel. He’s the epitome of a hard worker and spends a ton of time studying the secondary and playbook to make sure the younger guys are all on the same page.

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