How a hairstyle change helped Anez Cooper go from reserved to Hurricanes leader
Perhaps the biggest change for Anez Cooper during his time with the Miami Hurricanes started with his hair.
When he got to campus as a freshman ahead of the 2022 season, Cooper was reserved despite the offensive lineman’s noticeable stature (he towers at 6-4 and 345 pounds). He came from the small town of Pleasant Grove, Alabama, with a population of about 10,000, and was getting acclimated in the buzzing city of Miami. His hair served as his security blanket, his safeguard to allow him to deflect any sort of attention that might come his way.
“I used to have my hair just all in my face because I didn’t really want to talk to nobody,” Cooper said. “I was a freshman. I was young. I didn’t know how college was.”
Time has changed, and Cooper has come out of his shell.
He’s entering his senior season with the Hurricanes and has found himself as a leader on one of Miami’s most veteran position groups. The long hair that once masked him has been buzzed away for some time now.
Cooper has grown with this Hurricanes team. He was a true freshman for Mario Cristobal’s first season as head coach and has seen the team’s improvement firsthand, from five wins in 2022 to seven in 2023 to 10 last season. Aspirations are high for both the team and Cooper individually in 2024 as he tries to end his college career on a high note.
The first step in his final chapter starts Aug. 31 with a top-10 matchup between the No. 10 Hurricanes and No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Hard Rock Stadium.
“We want to win around here,” Cooper said. “We want to see a championship here.”
Such vocal declarations from Cooper would have been almost unheard of his freshman year.
Coach Mario Cristobal remembers visiting Cooper at his home in January 2022 on a recruiting trip and not really knowing what to think about the outing.
“He didn’t say a word for an hour and a half,” Cristobal said. “I’m like, ‘What are we doing here?’ He was supposed to be a defensive tackle and we’re like, ‘I don’t know if we’re getting this guy.’”
Before leaving, Cristobal asked Cooper if there was anything he wanted the coach to know. Cooper moved his hair from his face and gave one sentence.
“I want to play right guard,” the player said.
“No complaints here,” Cristobal replied. “Let’s go.”
Cooper, a three-star prospect in the Class of 2022 according to the 247Sports composite ranking, committed to UM a week-and-a-half later on National Signing Day.
As for why Cooper wanted the position switch?
“In high school, I was getting double teamed a lot,” Cooper said. “I was getting chopped down and all that. I don’t like that. I like doing it. I don’t like it happening to me.”
It has worked out for him. Cooper became a mainstay on the offensive line by the end of his freshman season, starting four of UM’s final five games in 2022.
He has started all 26 games the past two years at right guard and will hold down that position again this season.
“It’s awesome to watch him go through the development process he’s had,” Cristobal said. “You’ve seen Coop’s transformation. That’s incredible. He’s 345 pounds right now and he can run like a defensive lineman. He’s incredibly smart. ... I think he’s just scratching the surface.”
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson echoes Cristobal’s sentiment.
“He’s always been a really good player, physical player,” Dawson said. “He’s really an outspoken guy in our room, and I appreciate the leadership position that he has niched out for himself and I do think that he’s going to have that for a long time. He is the guy that when he talks everybody listens and he’s earned that role because of the the way he’s played the game as long as he’s played the game. I appreciate his voice at times.”
Cooper appreciates his voice now, too. It’s a sign of how far he’s come.
“I think it was just me having to grow up,” Cooper said. “When I first came in, I didn’t really expect that I was going to end up starting. I just felt like if I was going to have to play and start, it was about me having to grow up fast. I felt like I just had to open up to everybody and just let everybody see the person I was instead of keeping everything in.”
They see him and hear him now.
And for the Hurricanes to get to their ultimate goal, Cooper and the Hurricanes’ offensive line will likely play an integral role.
Cooper and the rest of the starting offensive line — Markel Bell at left tackle, Matt McCoy at left guard, James Brockermeyer at center and Francis Mauigoa at right tackle — have the chance to be one of the top offensive lines in the country. They’ll be tasked with keeping quarterback Carson Beck upright and opening holes for their run game led by a formidable threesome in Mark Fletcher, Jordan Lyle and CharMar Brown.
Cooper knows they have to lead from up front and are ready for the challenge.
“Everybody sees us as a whole because we all work together,” Cooper said. “When we go out there and bring the whole team around us, it’s a good thing that we’ve got. We don’t take it as pressure because we’re used to it.”
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