Steve Cooper named the UCF offensive coordinator – UCF Athletics

ORLANDO – Steve Cooper, who spent four seasons at Nebraska with new UCF head coach Scott Frost, has been named the Knights’ offensive coordinator, Frost announced Wednesday.

Cooper joins the Black and Gold after one season as an offensive analyst at Boise State, helping the Broncos secure a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and win the Mountain West Conference Championship.

“First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Coach Frost for believing in me and providing this incredible opportunity to join Knight Nation as offensive coordinator,” Cooper said. “I am thrilled to contribute to this program’s rich tradition of offensive innovation and success. The energy, passion and culture here is second to none and I can’t wait to work with these talented student-athletes and the amazing Knight community.”

With Cooper’s help, Boise State compiled a 12-1 record and secured third place in the College Football Playoff and a first-round bye. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is a Heisman Trophy finalist and leads the nation in rushing yards (2,497) and rushing touchdowns (29).

The Broncos rank fourth nationally in scoring offense (39.1 points per game) and sixth nationally in rushing offense (250.5 yards per game).

Cooper spent the 2023 season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Maine, leading the Black Bears to the 10th-ranked passing offense in the FCS with 3,081 yards. Under his leadership, quarterback Derek Robertson finished the season ninth nationally with 25 passing touchdowns. He ranked seventh in the FCS with 2,993 passing yards and set a school record with 503 passing yards against Campbell.

His time in Maine was followed by four years at Nebraska (2018-22), where he served in a variety of roles including senior offensive analyst (2022), interim quarterbacks coach (2021) and offensive quality control officer (2018-21). .

During this time, Cooper mentored Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez. Under Cooper’s tutelage, Martinez ranked first among FBS rookies and 15th overall in the country with 295.1 passing yards per game. His total yards of 7,404 were the fourth-highest on Nebraska’s all-time list for total yards, while his completion percentage of 64.2 ranked second in Nebraska history.

In 2021, Cooper served as interim quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, where he was responsible for the game plan against Wisconsin and Iowa. During those games, Nebraska averaged 390 yards of offense against a Wisconsin team ranked No. 4 in total defense and the Hawkeyes, who ranked 13th in total defense.

Cooper spent eight years (2010-17) in various full-time coaching roles at his alma mater, Portland State. He started as tight ends coach in 2010 before moving to receivers coach (2011-14), where he led Kasey Closs to all-conference honors and finished 13th in the FCS in receiving yardage (1,167 yards). with 63 receptions).

During his final three years (2015-17) at Portland State, Cooper was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Vikings, where his 2015 offense scored the second-most points in school history. This season, he led a dynamic Portland State offense that recorded the largest margin of victory by an FCS school over an FBS program in a dominant 66-7 win over North Texas. He also mentored quarterback Alex Kuresa to the Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year award.

Cooper graduated from Portland State with a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy and was a two-time letterwinner at wide receiver for the Vikings, participating in the FCS’s top-ranked passing offense during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He was also a member of the Oregon State football team for two years from 2005 to 2006.