Wisconsin legacy Cooper Nelson adds his name to 2019 class
Wisconsin legacy Cooper Nelson is staying close to home to play college football.
Thursday night, the senior from Sun Prairie High School announced he had accepted a preferred walk-on offer from UW, the same school his father, Scott Nelson, won a Rose Bowl in 2003.
"It’s pretty cool to have the chance to play where my dad did," Cooper Nelson told BadgerBlitz.com. "We’ve talked a lot about what it means - the hard work, the lifetime memories, for sure.
"But he also told me it’s about my experience. What my teammates and I will accomplish is up to us. Our focus is about getting better every day, leaving our own mark and continuing the tradition of Wisconsin football."
A 6-foot-4, 185-pound wide receiver, Nelson joins a preferred walk-on class that previously included Peter Bowden, Blake Wilcox, Jackson Kollath, Tatum Grass, Cameron Phillips and Logan O'Brien. Assistant coach Chris Haering was the lead contact in his recruitment.
"In early December, Coach (Chris) Haering came to visit me at school," Nelson said. "He offered me on the spot then, and said the next step is just getting you accepted into school. A few days later during Christmas break I was accepted. Then I knew that’s where I wanted to go, but it just took a few more visits to make sure.
"Coach Haering said they really liked my film, how I attacked the ball, ran my routes and competed. He also really liked that I am a three-sport athlete."
Cooper, who had 60 receptions for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior, had an offer from Western Illinois and strong interest from a handful of other schools.
"I'm glad I chose to stay home," he said. "The other visits I took were to Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State and Northern Illinois - all those schools had offered a preferred walk-on to me as well. The other two main ones were Iowa State and Minnesota. But all of the schools I visited that I listed above I considered.
"It’s every Wisconsin kids' dream to play for them. But when I did the game-day visit this past fall, visited campus and met with academic people, I knew I couldn’t pass it up."
