[6] A week after being named the top defensive player in New England, Cooper was caught with possession of about 1,000 steroid pills on November 1, 2002.

The driver, Patrick Kenney, allowed Trooper Michael Johnson to search the car in which he found the pills in a duffel bag sitting on the rear seat.

[7] Cooper was not penalized for participation of any games during his senior year as possession of steroids did not violate NCAA rules.

A New York Times report stated "NCAA spokeswoman, Laronica L. Conway, said the illegal possession of steroids was an issue for the institution to resolve.

There is no violation of NCAA bylaws unless a player is accused of actually ingesting the pills, not simply possessing them, she said from the association's headquarters in Indianapolis.

He played in mostly a backup role for his first 4 years before his breakout season in 2007 when he started all 16 games and recorded a career high 107 tackles.