Florida
FSU hires Evan Cooper as safeties coach
Florida State has hired NFL and college coaching veteran Evan Cooper as the football program’s safeties coach, FSU head coach Mike Norvell announced Saturday.
Cooper, a Miami native who attended American Heritage, brings more than a decade of coaching experience and reunites with FSU defensive coordinator Tony White, who he was with at Nebraska in 2023, and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton, his college teammate and fellow coach with the Carolina Panthers and at Nebraska.
“I’m happy to have Evan Cooper joining our Nole Family,” Norvell said. “It’s great to have another Dade County native back working in his home state. Our safeties will benefit from his experience and expertise, and he will be a tremendous collaborator with Tony White, Patrick Surtain and the rest of our defensive staff to reestablish the dominant defense Florida State is known for. I’m incredibly excited for the future here at Florida State.”
The 2023 Nebraska defense, with Cooper serving as the defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach, produced four All-Big Ten defensive backs. The quartet was led by Tommi Hill, whose 13 passes defended were the most in the conference. Hill also ranked third in the Big Ten with nine pass breakups while posting the conference’s fifth-highest individual interceptions total.
The Huskers held opponents to only 6.1 yards per pass attempt, ninth-lowest in the country, and had the nation’s 15th-best passing efficiency defense. Nebraska kept seven of 12 opponents to less than 200 passing yards, including two under 100 yards. The Huskers allowed only 92.9 rushing yards per game, the No. 8 rushing defense in the country and the best at Nebraska this century, while also ranking 11th nationally in total defense and 13th in scoring defense. Hill led the team with 85 tackles and fellow defensive back Omar Brown tied for second among Huskers with 51 tackles.
“I’m excited to join the Florida State football program,” Cooper said. “FSU has an elite history among the best programs in college football, and I’m looking forward to working with Coach Norvell and the rest of the staff. I can’t wait to get started with our players and contribute to upholding the DBU legacy.”
Cooper was the Carolina Panthers’ cornerbacks coach and director of player evaluation from 2020-22. In 2021, Carolina had the NFL’s No. 2 total defense, allowing 305.9 yards per game. Cooper’s cornerbacks contributed to the league’s No. 4 pass defense, holding opponents to only 192.1 passing yards per game, and the fifth-lowest completions allowed total in the NFL.
Cooper spent three seasons at Baylor and helped lead a major transformation in the program that resulted in a trip to the Sugar Bowl in his last year in Waco. He spent the 2017 season as the Bears’ director of player personnel before joining the on-field staff working with the secondary and defensive line in 2018. In 2019, he was promoted to cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator and helped the Bears post an 11-3 record with an appearance in the Big 12 Championship Game and Sugar Bowl. That year, Baylor’s 17 interceptions ranked fifth in the country and contributed to a group that ranked 18th nationally in pass efficiency defense and 19th in scoring defense.
After a brief stint as the assistant director of player personnel at Miami early in 2015, Cooper was hired as Temple’s director of player personnel. He served in that role in 2015 and 2016, helping the Owls reach 10 wins both years and qualify for bowl games in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. The 2016 team also won the AAC, Temple’s first conference title in 48 years, by defeating No. 19 Navy in the conference championship game.
Cooper began his coaching career as the defensive backs coach for Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He then accepted a graduate assistant position at Temple in 2013 and moved to the role of director of external operations for the Owls in 2014.
Cooper was a four-year letterman at defensive back for Temple and earned his bachelor’s degree in sport and recreational management from Temple in 2009. He and his wife, Andisha, have one son, Evan III, and one daughter, Madison.
Evan Cooper Coaching History
2025- Florida State Safeties Coach
2023 Nebraska Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Secondary Coach
2020-22 Carolina Panthers Cornerbacks Coach/Director of Player Evaluation
2019 Baylor Cornerbacks Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2018 Baylor Secondary/Defensive Line Coach
2017 Baylor Director of Player Personnel
2015-16 Temple Director of Player Personnel
2014 Temple Director of External Operations
2013 Temple Graduate Assistant
2011-12 Westminster Academy (Fla.) Defensive Backs Coach
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Florida on Tuesday announced a criminal probe into whether artificial intelligence played a role in a deadly mass shooting at a university in the US state.
“If ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said.
Florida law allows anyone who assists or counsels someone in the commission of a crime to be treated as an “aider and abettor” bearing the same responsibility as the perpetrator, according to Uthmeier.
In exchanges with ChatGPT, the accused shooter sought advice on what type of gun and ammunition to use, as well as where and when on campus a lot of people would likely be found, the state attorney general said during a press briefing.
“Last year’s mass shooting at Florida State University was a tragedy, but ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime,” an OpenAI spokesperson said.
A massive wildfire in Putnam County in northern Florida left Amtrak passengers stranded on a train for more than 24 hours.
One train heading to New York City was forced to turn around, arriving back in Miami Monday night, including one passenger who said he had been on that train for about 38 hours.
He says he and other passengers were left uncertain about what was going on.
“Angry, confused, uncertain, in the dark,” said John Reardon.
Reardon, who lives in New York City, says he boarded the train around 7 a.m. Sunday to go back home. He said around 3 p.m. Sunday, the train stopped near Jacksonville.
“Finally, after about 5 hours, they said we’re not going to New York, we’re going back to Miami,” Reardon said. “One stop at a time.”
Amtrak said for the safety of its passengers, the train couldn’t continue going north because of the fire.
“Amtrak sends a notification to the phone saying, ‘Hey, there’s an issue with the wildfire, it’s too close to the railway,’” said passenger Katrinia Wheeler.
Multiple crews are battling multiple fires in two Florida counties, leaving at least 3,000 acres burned.
“I saw that there was a lot of smoke coming from the woods, and then I saw the fire trucks and emergency services,” Wheeler said.
The train that left Miami at 7 a.m. on Sunday returned around 9 p.m. on Monday, leaving passengers frustrated.
Amtrak corporate says they made the decision out of safety for their customers and said customers would receive full refunds and vouchers.
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