LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The UNLV Rebels made history all season long, and now they're getting ready to make their first bowl game appearance in a decade.
Former UNLV quarterback Hunkie Cooper walked 100 yards with Channel 13 sports reporter Tina Nguyen to talk about the program's success.
TINA NGUYEN: Hunkie, when you first got the call from Barry Odom that he wanted you to be the director of football player development, what was your initial reaction?
HUNKIE COOPER: Well, being in town in February at a convention, boosters, alumni had asked me to go meet with Coach Odom. We were supposed to have a 30-minute meeting, and that 30-minute conversation was about four-and-a-half hours. And at the time, a staff was completed and it was not going to be an on the field position but he said, 'We need each other. We can make each other work.'
NGUYEN: You're back to wearing the same colors that you once wore back in 1991 as not only a quarterback of this team, but you played six different positions here. What did your time at UNLV mean to you?
COOPER: Everything. I made lifelong friends. ...This city has been tremendous to me and my kids. ...So the lesson learned here in Las Vegas, the relationships we built, the friendships we've built are all multiplying now. And I just want to be able to give everything I can back to this community.
NGUYEN: What is it like to see this program not only have success this year but to be a part of that success?
COOPER: It's everything. Everything goes full circle in life. I had great times in this conference, and to be here my first year and compete for a conference title and have the opportunity to compete for a conference title was huge. I think it's a great learning experience for our players; I think it's going to give us some ground to build on.
NGUYEN: From the nine wins for the first time since '84, you guys are getting ready to play in a bowl game, and you just mentioned competing in the conference championship a few weeks ago. What did it take for this program to get to this point?
COOPER: It took a lot of trust, a lot of hard work, a lot of commitment, trust in the vision that Coach Odom had, being committed to each other as players and as teammates and as coaches and then going out, putting in the work. None of this is possible without the kids putting in the work.
NGUYEN: You've played and won at the collegiate level, you've played professionally — you spent time in the AFL — you've also been able to coach the game; you've even coached high school ball here in Las Vegas. What is it like to get the chance to experience the game on so many different levels?
COOPER: This has been my most trying year, to see it through a different lens, off the field. But I don't have to be the bad guy; I'm always about solutions now. I think my gift is I can reach hard-to-reach young men and, you know, there's no job too big or small for me here. They'll see me pick up paper; they'll see me work on the turf; they'll see me fix the stairs; they'll see me do anything — and they see me doing it and they respect me, then it makes it easy for them to do. So I'm just glad to be a part of and excited about the opportunity I have to come back and work and be a part of the transition to a new program.
NGUYEN: Well, as we are in the end zone now — why is this Las Vegas' team?
COOPER: Because it's the team that's been here the longest. It's the team that's been here the longest out of everybody else. I mean, you got a hockey team that comes here, The Golden Knights have done an amazing job in six years. You get the Las Vegas Aces who were a transitional team; they come in, they have success. Lindy LaRoque is doing an amazing job at women's basketball. Men's basketball have had their time, the Las Vegas (Aviators), which were the 51s, have done a great job, and now it's about UNLV Football. And we want to capture that. We know this team deserves that biggest reward and I think we're going to get that reward.
