DALTON, Ga. - To say that Tyson Cooper was thrown into the fire would be putting it mildly. A year after making his quarterback debut - at any level - the Christian Heritage senior is more than holding his own.
Injuries forced Lions coach Preston Poag to put the athletic Cooper behind center a year ago. Though Christian Heritage made the Georgia Class A private school playoffs, Cooper understandably struggled, most notably with turnovers as he tried to learn the sport's most difficult position on the fly.
"I had no idea what I was doing," said Cooper, who has passed for 764 yards, rushed for 467 and accounted for 11 touchdowns through four games this season. "I think I threw 17 interceptions last year, and I didn't want to hurt my team this year with the turnovers."
He dove into a full-fledged crash course on the finer points of playing the position in the offseason, and he had a teacher in Poag who played the position at North Carolina State.
"From this time last year to today is like night and day with him," Poag said. "We put him at quarterback last year and it really wasn't fair to him. He struggled early not taking care of the ball. We honestly thought we would move him to receiver after a kid moved in, but he was determined to remain at quarterback."
Cooper, who also starts at free safety, had to fight off stiff competition from Northwest Whitfield transfer Seth Hutchinson during summer camp, but his most difficult obstacle may have been himself. The ultra-competitive athlete, despite obvious physical talents, lacked one major quarterback trait.
"The biggest trait with him is he's a competitor, but that also held him back some," Poag said. "He can do everything, but he had to learn how to put bad plays behind him. You can't take bad plays with you, and last year he would get upset and it would affect his play.
"He's completely different this year, and just his presence on the field makes everyone better."
Admitted Cooper: "Last year I had a pretty bad attitude. I had to realize my teammates fed off how I acted."
Last week's 31-28 win over Fellowship Christian was Cooper's best performance yet. Not only did he complete 13 of 20 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns, but he also ran for 100 yards, including the game-winning touchdown after Fellowship had scored late to take the lead.
The 2-2 Lions, who have lost to playoff teams Landmark Christian and Model, cracked the private school top 10 this week. If they improve just one spot between now and the end of the season, they would get to host a GHSA playoff game for the first time in the school's brief history.
Cooper admits it would be a great way to highlight his senior season.
"It would be great for the school, too," he said. "I remember when I first came here we were tiny. We didn't have many athletes and we were in the Glory for Christ league. I played as an eighth-grader, and now we might host a GHSA playoff game. This is easily the best team I've played on."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow at Twitter @youngsports22