Indiana football redshirt junior wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. has declared for the upcoming NFL draft, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Cooper then confirmed the decision in social media posts Monday morning.
After missing much of the Big Ten Championship game against Ohio State on Dec. 6 due to an injury, Cooper caught 11 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns throughout Indiana’s run to the national championship.
The Indianapolis native led the Hoosiers’ receiving corp in 2025 with 937 yards on 69 catches. He finished his redshirt junior campaign with 13 receiving touchdowns — second-most behind senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt.
The 6-foot, 201-pound Cooper notched 24 total touchdowns through his four years in Bloomington.
Cooper is now the third Hoosier to forgo a season of eligibility and declare for the NFL draft, joining redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza and junior cornerback D’Angelo Ponds.
With Cooper departing Bloomington, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti already made a pair of acquisitions at receiver in Nick Marsh and Shazz Preston. The Hoosiers also return Charlie Becker and Tyler Morris next season.
Cooper left his mark as an in-state player who stayed through a coaching change and reaped the rewards. An NFL career now awaits him.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
