Football Athlete (1990-91)
Far and away the most versatile football player in UNLV history and one of the most versatile in college football history, Hernandez “Hunkie” Cooper went on to become arguably the greatest player in Arena Football history. Now, he’s back on campus and headed into his alma mater’s Hall of Fame. The Texas native transferred to UNLV after leading Navarro Junior College to the national championship as a quarterback. As a Rebel, he played at – and incredibly started at least once – at no less than SIX different positions – running back, wide receiver, quarterback, kick returner, punt returner and finally, cornerback on the other side of the ball. A three-time First Team All-Big West Conference honoree, Cooper is one of just three Rebels in history to earn all-league at two different positions (KR and PR), joining QB/P Randall Cunningham and current UNLV KR/PR Jacob De Jesus. Cooper led UNLV in all-purpose yards, kickoff return yards and punt return yards both of his seasons in Las Vegas and his 1,705 all-purpose yards in 1990 still ranks third in school history and his 11.6-yard career punt return average sits third in the school’s record book. His pro career eventually saw him become a legendary figure in Phoenix after a long career for the AFL’s Rattlers, who he led to a pair of championships in 1994 and ’97. Named the league’s Ironman of the Year in 1999 and 2000, Cooper finished his career with nearly 8,559 receiving yards to go along with 196 tackles and 15 interceptions, including seven for a touchdown. Making Las Vegas his home, he was a radio analyst for UNLV before serving as head coach of Canyon Springs High School for six years. Cooper returned to the college game and was an assistant coach at San Diego State for eight seasons before coming home in 2023 to serve on Barry Odom’s staff in the newly created position of UNLV Director of Player Development & Community Engagement. He was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2011 and Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame eight years later.
COOPER’S RUSH-REC-PASS STATS
YEAR CAR YDS REC YDS PATT PCMP YDS TD INT
1991 93 436 10 135 54 27 461 2 1
1990 134 573 18 251 25 11 219 3 0
TOTAL 227 1,009 28 386 79 38 680 5 1
COOPER’S KICK RETURN STATS
YEAR KR YDS AVG PR YDS AVG
1991 15 309 20.6 17 186 10.9
1990 35 708 20.2 14 173 12.4
TOTAL 50 1017 20.3 31 359 11.6
