Sophomore Nebraska junior college transfer Niko Cooper has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
The Memphis native came to NU by way of Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, and leaves the program after just one season.
The 6-foot-5, 225 pound Cooper saw action in seven games last season, all on special teams. He made three tackles, including two in the Huskers win over Penn State.
Cooper found himself at a position where Nebraska returns their top five players from a year ago in senior JoJo Domann, junior Caleb Tannor, sophomore Garrett Nelson, junior Pheldarious Payne and junior Damian Jackson.
For Cooper to get on the field at NU in 2021 he was going to have to jump multiple players who saw action over him a year ago.
By John Gaskins
Feb 19, 2021 11:11 AM
Former three-time All-South Dakota high school star and national offensive lineman of the year Will Farniok is taking his talents to Tulsa, he announced on Twitter Friday morning.
The Sioux Falls Washington graduate spent the last three seasons at Nebraska, where he redshirted in 2018 and played in four games for the Huskers the past two seasons. The 6’3, 295 lb. Farniok started at center in the 2020 opener at No. 5 Ohio State but would not appear in any of the remaining seven games. He entered the transfer portal in January and has two years of eligibility remaining.
Tulsa competes in the American Athletic Conference, a Group of Five league in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Golden Hurricanes finished 6-3 last year, reaching as high as No. 18 in the AP poll and qualifying for the Armed Services Bowl. It was just the second winning season in the last seven years at Tulsa, whose head coach Phillip Montgomery will enter his seventh
Fitz & Frost: A Tale of Two NUs
While Nebraska endures transfers, Northwestern locks in its coach
Author:
Two Big Ten teams answer to the initials NU. Both are coached by alums who were star players in the ’90s. One was the quarterback of a national championship team. The other was the defensive anchor of a celebrated Rose Bowl team. From there, the similarities are more difficult to find. That was apparent this week. Nebraska coach Scott Frost was trying to spin the troubling exodus of important players who have entered the transfer portal. That group includes Dylan McCaffrey, the Cornhuskers quarterback of the future; and big-play receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
Congratulations to the Iowa Hawkeyes, who finally have something to smile about in college football:
Since December 2019, 25 Nebraska players on scholarship have entered the transfer portal.
Just like there’s no single reason for the departures, there’s no universal fix. But the Huskers must address their issues in the wake of Luke McCaffrey’s transfer. https://t.co/mD6hs7SNeL Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) January 27, 2021
So we’re going to talk about this, huh?
Well, for the most part, I can look at each one of these transfers and think, “sure, I don’t blame the kid” and while you want to point out OMG FROST, it’s also important to think “Well, why would a kid want to come to Lincoln from Florida in a god damn pandemic in the first place?”