AJ Cooper was hired as linebackers coach at Sacramento State in January 2023.
In his first season with the team, Cooper mentored a veteran group which included seniors Armon Bailey, Brock Mather and Jeremy Harris. Bailey was named first team all-Big Sky for a second consecutive season after leading the team with a career high 97 total tackles. Mather was third among Hornets with 68 stops and added a pair of interceptions while Harris finished with 38 total tackles.
Cooper spent the 2022 season as a defensive graduate assistant at Oregon State. That year, the Beavers went 10-3, including a dominant 30-3 win over Florida in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. The OSU defense limited opponents to just 108.2 yards per game which led the Pac-12 and ranked 15th in the FBS. Linebacker Omar Speights, Jr., was named to the all-Pac-12 first team while Jaydon Grant was a second team selection as a defensive back.
Cooper was a graduate assistant at Central Washington from 2019-21 where he coached cornerback Tyren Sams who was named Div. II All-American , all-region and all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Marcus Schimmelfennig also earned honorable mention all-league accolades.
The Las Vegas native played at Southern Oregon where he was a four-year starter from 2015-18. Cooper finished his career with 198 total tackles and had nine interceptions. He was part of two NAIA national championship teams, as a redshirt in 2014 and a starter in 2015.
Cooper earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Southern Oregon in 2019.
