Darian Cooper, a defensive tackle from Maryland, will sign with Iowa, according to The Washington Post's Josh Barr. Cooper's top four included Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan and Georgia Tech, and Barr reports that the Hawkeyes were chosen over the Spartans.
Cooper is a four-star recruit on Scout and ESPN and has three stars on Rivals. He has a rather impressive offer list, which speaks to his potential more than star ratings. In addition to receiving offers from the aforementioned schools in his top four, Cooper also has offers from Clemson, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, NC State, UCLA, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, among others. He was a very highly sought after prospect and one of the top players in the state of Maryland.
Michigan State was hoping to make Cooper its second commitment from DeMatha High School. Darien Harris, a high school teammate of Cooper, already is a member of the Spartans' 2011 recruiting class, but he will not be headed to East Lansing with Cooper. They will still see each other in the Legends Division of the new Big Ten, as Iowa and MSU will play every season, but they will be on opposing sidelines.