Sean Cooper and four-star DE Bai Jobe are 'all in' on Michigan State (SP)
Bai Jobe, a four-star weak-side defensive end out of Community Christian School in Norman, Oklahoma, recently signed with Michigan State’s 2023 class.
One of the closest confidants to Jobe is his trainer, Sean Cooper. Cooper is the owner of C4 Sports Performance & Fitness in Durant, Oklahoma. Cooper has been training Jobe for several years, and according to the C4 website, “Cooper is a certified strength coach through International Sports Science Association (ISSA) as well as an Applied Performance Enhancement Coach through the APEC certification.”
Cooper, who played running back at Division II Southeastern Oklahoma State University before going on to play professional football in Europe, got into training “by accident.” He was coaching running backs at his alma mater and also was responsible for putting together a strength and conditioning program for the Savage Storm. This would ultimately lead to opening C4 Sports Performance & Fitness.
“I just was training people on the side (for supplementary pay) and kind of accidentally opened a business,” Cooper told Spartans Illustrated about the formation of C4. “That’s no joke, it was an accident. I loved coaching D-Two (Division II) football and I was head strength coach, I (also) had to coach running backs – at the D-Two level, you gotta (wear) multiple hats, and so, I used to hit the road to recruit, and I put together a strength program. So I got the chance to put (a strength and conditioning program) together from scratch and so that's kind of led me to opening a business from scratch.
“We didn't jump into it – the business initially, it wasn't like, ‘Hey, let's help football players,’” Cooper continued. “It was just like we trained people and it kind of migrated into football. You know, it migrated from a lot of adults, to lots of (different) athletes, and then migrated to a lot of football and helping kids get recruited. But none of that was on the script, I promise you.”
Since then, Cooper has helped train some of the top athletes in Oklahoma and in the surrounding areas.
As for Jobe, his story isn’t typical for a high-profile football recruit, as Jobe is originally from Senegal. He moved to the United States at just 13 years old to live with a host family in Oklahoma. When he arrived, he didn’t speak English and he was focused on basketball.
Now, Jobe speaks three languages – English, French and Wolof – and will be an early enrollee for the Michigan State football program as he will get to campus in January. Cooper notes that the path wasn’t always easy for Jobe.
“It was hard early on because he came (to the U.S.) in November right before his 14th birthday (in December) and he didn't know a lick of English, none,” Cooper said. “All he knew how to do was shake his head ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ And so really getting acclimated to learning English was tough (for Jobe). It was probably tougher to learn (English) than to play football.
“Now he speaks three languages. But a lot of programs, like Alabama and Georgia, that was one of the things that they really liked about (Jobe). (That was something) they really admired about him was that he had picked up English in such a short time and he had confidence to hold a conversation. That was one thing that helped boost (Jobe’s) recruiting.”
As for how Cooper got introduced to Jobe, it was actually Oklahoma-based reporter Brandon Drumm who first told Cooper about Jobe. Eventually, Cooper contacted Jobe’s head coach, Mat McIntosh to set up a meeting, take measurements and work out. Jobe, his family and McIntosh made the two-plus hour drive from Oklahoma City to Durant (a rural part of Oklahoma) and the rest was history.
Since then, Cooper and Jobe have become extremely close. Cooper was the one who told Jobe to focus on the defensive end position, where “the money is,” (Jobe was originally focused on playing tight end) and Jobe’s recruitment eventually took off. With Cooper’s help, Jobe became one of the most sought-after edge rushers in the country, as Rivals ranks him as the No. 12 weak-side defensive end in the entire 2023 class.
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