Pryor’s Cooper Williams – Character Counts Presented by Hooker’s Sports Grill

By John Tranchina

Cooper Williams has been playing football since the first grade, and now, after working hard on his game in the off-season, the junior offensive lineman is contributing to a successful Pryor High School season.

After going just 3-7 last year, the Tigers have jumped out to a 4-1 start in 2019, and Williams is enjoying the team’s reversal of fortune. “It feels good, it finally feels good to start winning,” he said. “It’s nice to see all the hard work that we’ve put in pay off. Our goal is to be district champs.”

Some of that effort was put in during the off-season, and has played a big role in Williams improving his performance. “Over the summer, we have our Summer Pride workouts, but I go to our gym. I usually work out twice a day, and they have a ladder thing and I work on my footwork,” he said. “I feel like the whole team, and me, is getting better every week, after we watch film.”

Also as part of his ongoing mission to enhance his football prowess, Williams has been participating on the Pryor powerlifting team in the winter and on the track and field squad in the spring. That additional time lifting weights, as well as throwing the discus and shot put in track, has helped the 6-foot, 215-pound lineman get stronger and improve his conditioning.

He used to play baseball, but Williams points out that football has always been his favorite sport. “The contact and the bond you make with your teammates,” he said, highlighting his favorite aspects of the game. “My mom and dad signed me up (in first grade). My dad coached me for a little bit, and I went off for a year, and I came back and never looked back since.”

Off the field, Williams is involved with Pryor’s Tiger Video multi-media website. “For Tiger Video, we film a lot of stuff that is going on around our district and post it on our website,” said Williams, who does both camera work and editing.