Q&A: Valparaiso HS coach Bill Marshall on IU commit Cooper Jones

Valparaiso 2021 defensive end Cooper Jones, the No. 20 defensive end in the country and the No. 6 prospect in the state, was one of the most sought-after defensive ends in the state in an Indiana class loaded with defensive line talent.

Elkhart defensive end Rodney McGraw had already committed to Indiana in January, after growing close with former defensive line coach Mark Hagen and seeing the strength and conditioning program David Ballou was installing at Indiana before leaving for Alabama. Jones was developing the same relationship with the Hoosier program, but committed Thursday to new defensive line coach Kevin Peoples, new strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman and, most notably, head coach Tom Allen.

The two in-state defensive ends were garnering interest from programs like Notre Dame and Michigan, and Jones had offers from Ohio State, Iowa and Purdue. Now, they're both squarely etched into Indiana's 2021 class as the first two commitments to the program.

TheHoosier.com sat down with Valparaiso head football coach Bill Marshall, who just finished his second season at Valpo and has made trips to both the semi-state and state rounds of the Class 6A and Class 5A tournaments, respectively. Marshall served as the liaison between college coaches, media and Jones and the Jones family. He provided an in-depth look at the step-by-step processes of Jones' commitment, why he picked Indiana and how COVID-19 was involved in the process.

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We knew very early on. As a freshman, it’s hard in any program but definitely in our program for a freshman to go ahead and be able to play varsity. He played sparingly. We had a very, very good defensive line that was heavily loaded with seniors, but each and every day he practiced with the varsity team, practiced against varsity-caliber offensive linemen. When we could get him into games, I think it really helped his learning curve. When you couple that with the type of athlete that he is. He’s an exceptionally hard worker, as you can see just by looking at his body – 6-5, 250. But I think the thing that really sets him apart from other athletes is how intelligent he is. He’s a 4.0 athlete. He’s very good in the classroom, and on the field, just the motor that he plays with. You think about these high-level defensive ends that you see playing on Saturdays and Sundays, and it’s just a motor that never stops. He has that, in every single practice. It sounds cliche but he never takes a play off. It’s that unrivaled motor that has set him apart from other recruits in the state.