The Texas Longhorns continued their recruiting hot streak on Sunday, adding a commitment at a position of need with the addition of Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna running back Derrek Cooper over the Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Cooper was long considered to be a Miami lean coming out of the summer visit season with the hometown Hurricanes looking to add their second five-star player in the class. However, with the Longhorns’ high-profile misses on KJ Edwards and Ezavier Crowell, position coach Chad Scott and the recruiting staff turned up the heat on the elite back to fill one of the major holes in the recruiting class.

The No. 29 player in the country and the No. 2 player in Florida, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Cooper pledges to Texas without yet taking his official visit to Austin, instead opting for an unofficial visit in April and plans to trip to the Forty Acres during the fall. That may prove beneficial later in the cycle, affording Texas the ability to formally host him in Austin closer to Early Signing Day, as teams try to flip him.

At 6’1, 205 pounds, Cooper is a unique mix of power and speed, qualifying for the state track finals in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes as a sophomore. While the Horns are recruiting him as a running back, he has played both ways in both of his varsity seasons, rushing for 905 yards and 13 touchdowns while also chipping in 46 tackles and four sacks to lead Chaminade-Madonna to a 1A state championship as a junior.

Cooper becomes commitment No. 21 for Texas and the fifth top-50 player of the cycle for the Longhorns, six spots ahead of John Turntine, in what is rapidly becoming another elite class for Texas.

The Florida product moves the Longhorns to No. 5 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings with the fewest committed players in that group. Cooper also joins quarterback Dia Bell and defensive lineman James Johnson as top-10 players from the Sunshine State to choose the Longhorns, further establishing the Longhorns’ recruiting inroads there.

Film analysis (by Daniel Seahorn):

Cooper is a big, physical back at his listed 6’1, 205 pounds. He is a true three-phase player at the high school level, being the bell-cow running back offensively, while also being featured as a hybrid linebacker/safety defender and a key cog on special teams with multiple blocked punts on tape.

Cooper is a no-nonsense type of runner, as he isn’t the type who is going to waste motion behind the line of scrimmage. He gets downhill in a hurry and wants to get north and south without a bunch of lateral movement. Possesses a good burst when he sticks his foot in the ground and runs very hard and tough behind his pads. Will run through arm tackles regularly and has the shiftiness and quickness to make second and third-level defenders miss in space. Possesses the ability to BYOB (be your own blocker) when things go south in the backfield. Cooper is the type of back that is tough to bring down by one defender, as he is a very stubborn runner and will push a pile of defenders down the field.

Cooper has good, reliable hands out of the backfield as a receiver on tape and shows the ability to take short passes for large chunks of yardage. He possesses the speed on tape where he can punish bad angles and rip off explosive plays.

I love Cooper’s overall makeup because I think his toughness and willingness as a defender complement his running style as a back. He isn’t going to shy away from contact, and he is going to make you earn it anytime he touches the ball. Only carried the ball 124 times in 2024 and averaged 9.3 yards per carry, so there is still plenty of tread left on the tires as a runner. Has the ability to be a bell-cow back at the next level or be the thunder to someone’s lightning.

MIAMI — James Williams, Joaquim Smith, and Michael Rube Flurencio were at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center early Friday morning, records show.

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Corrections booked them on Thursday morning, and they faced charges in separate cases with the Miami Police Department, records show.

Their arrests on Wednesday were during a police “sweep” in the Overtown, Model City, and Little Haiti neighborhoods, according to Officer Michael Vega.

Miami detectives approached Williams, 33, and two other men after seeing them in a dark street on Wednesday night in the Overtown neighborhood.

Williams, a convicted felon, raised his arms, and when a detective asked if he was armed, he surrendered a stolen Glock 27, according to detectives.

The operation was in response to “a troubling increase” in shootings and homicides, according to Officer Michael Vega, who did not define the increase.

Smith, who was carrying a PSA Dagger pistol, was in a Mercedes-Benz with dark-tinted windows in Overtown, according to a detective’s report.

Smith, 27, of Miami Gardens, had marijuana in his pocket, and 35.4 grams stored in plastic baggies in the Mercedes-Benz, according to detectives.

Rubel Florencio was in another Mercedes-Benz with dark-tinted windows in Little Haiti with about 180 pills of Oxycodone, according to a police report.

Rubel Florencio, 28, of Hialeah, was “visibly nervous as his chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his hands were trembling,” according to a detective.

Vega, a spokesman for the police department, listed the arrests of Zakia Joseph, 27, of Miramar, and Dominick Martin, 36, who is homeless, over pending warrants in unrelated cases as part of the operation.

According to Vega, the five arrests were part of the operation involving the department’s crime gun intelligence detail, the gang unit, and the FBI violent gang task force.

Williams faced charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft of a firearm, and carrying a concealed firearm.

Smith faced charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell while armed, possession of marijuana near a school, and openly carrying a weapon.

Rubel Florencio faced a charge of trafficking Oxycodone.

Detectives asked anyone with information about these or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.

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If you’ve ever wanted to spray graffiti without the mess, or the arrest, Superblue Miami has you covered. Its latest exhibit is merging street art with tech. Deco took a trip down to the interactive art playground to find out more.

Graffiti is getting a temporary glow-up at Superblue Miami.

Superblue Miami Guest 1: “It was amazing, I’ve never experienced something like this.”

Thanks to its newest exhibit “Temporary Graffiti.”

Steve Velasquez: “‘Temporary Graffiti is an interactive artwork created by post digital art group Random International. They are a London-based group, and they’ve essentially created a way for our guests to create temporary designs with ultraviolet light on canvases.”

Here, you’re not just staring at the art, you’re creating it. So how does it work?

Steve Velasquez: “Think a traditional based spray can. There is a custom-made microcomputer inside of this spray can, and it allows light to pour out. This light is leaving behind an almost glow-in-the-dark design on photoreactive canvases.”

Just a stroke of a spray can, and you can leave your mark on the art world.

Steve Velasquez: “A lot of times, people will come and they’ll just start designing. They’ll put like a smiley face, they’ll put a bird, sometimes they’ll just write their name.”

But blink, and it’s gone.

Steve Velasquez: “The design is so temporary. Let’s say you don’t like it. you know, you kind of move on, you give it like 10, 15 minutes, it’ll disappear.”

Anyone can be a graffiti artist, too — no skills required.

Superblue Miami Guest 2: “I’m not to good at it. it’s just for fun. “

Steve Velasquez: “It’s for all ages. We see people from children to adults all come in, have a great time, and sometimes come out shocked at what they are able to creatively design.”

And while the art you make is temporary, the exhibit is not.

Steve Velasquez: “For Superblue, ‘Temporary Graffiti’ is a semi-permanent situation, meaning that at the moment, there is no clear end time or closure date for this piece, So at the moment, you can just enjoy for as long as it’s here.”

“Temporary Graffiti” is included with your general admission ticket to Superblue Miami.

FOR MORE INFO:
Superblue Miami
1101 NW 23rd St.
Miami, FL 33127
superblue.com

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