Cooper follows Reilly to B.C.

There was no outrunning the global pandemic for Shaq Cooper.

After two years with the Edmonton Football Team, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back out of Fort Hays State was heir presumptive to the starting running-back role — one he had spent preparing for as the understudy to C.J. Gable. In January 2020, Cooper was re-signed for another season, while Gable became a free agent in February. The next month, however, the succession plan was stopped in its tracks by COVID-19, which led to the cancellation of the Canadian Football League season.

Fast-forward one year and it was Cooper hitting the free-agent market this time, choosing to follow former Edmonton teammate-turned B.C. Lions quarterback Mike Reilly west.

Postmedia previously reported Cooper was offered an extension by Edmonton ahead of free agency, but chose to sign with the Lions for the same money. Edmonton, meanwhile, brought in former Toronto Argonauts running back James Wilder Jr. from the verge of retirement.

“Before I even signed, I talked to Mike Reilly,” Cooper told Bclions.com. “I played with him in my rookie year. He was a big part of me coming here. I was comfortable with him. No disrespect to Trev, Trevor Harris is a great quarterback. He's a great leader, a great person and I put him and Mike in the same boat. They know how to take care of their players.

“Since I met Mike, he's been a great dude. As a rookie, I was out there kind of lost and he helped me out in a big way. He helped me out with plays, he helped me learn things I didn't know in the CFL so I'm glad to be back with Mike.”

The pair meshed from the beginning, with Cooper rushing for 100 yards in his first start lined up behind Reilly in Edmonton's backfield in 2018.

“He was the first quarterback I ever played with in the CFL and he knows what I can do,” said Cooper, who rushed for 496 yards and two touchdowns in seven CFL games.

“My first game ever playing in the CFL, Mike, he told me, `Just go out there, don't worry about anything, just play ball and have fun.' That's what I did and he made it easier and took a lot off my back.”