He received the name Hernandez from a pact his father had made to his best friend prior to the Vietnam War.
[1] Cooper attended Westwood High School in Palestine, Texas and was a student and a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball.
Hunkie went on to play at Navarro College in Texas where he led the Bulldogs to a NJCAA national championship in 1989.
In a dramatic beginning to D1 Football in Hunkie's first game for Head Coach Jim Strong's UNLV Rebel's he scored Four Touchdowns from all over the field in the season opener verses Southwest Missouri.
After his time at UNLV, Hunkie believed his football career was over, so he took a job at a Las Vegas area casino.
Cooper arrived at camp as a fourth string receiver but quickly worked his way up the depth chart.
Cooper is also the Arena Football League's all-time leader in all-purpose yardage (20,587) and kickoff returns (500).
He also served as an assistant coach at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.
In January 2015, Cooper was hired as the wide receivers coach at San Diego State University.
[9] On March 1, 2023, UNLV announced the hiring of Cooper as its Director of Football Player Development.