Catching Up and Looking Forward with Cooper Terpstra

Michigan State offensive lineman & West Ottawa alum Cooper Terpstra joins us on our debut episode of the 29/1 Podcast. From balancing his time between East Lansing and the Lakeshore, reclaiming the number 54, to acclimating to a new coaching staff, Cooper sheds light on the nuances of being a Spartan.

Cooper takes us through his decision-making process, initially committing to Grand Valley State before an unexpected opportunity at Michigan State redirected his path. He talks candidly about the challenges of stepping up to a higher level of play, body transformation and rigorous training. The conversation also touches on the business aspect of college football and the importance of relational coaching, providing insights into the dynamics between players and coaching staff.

Nostalgia hits as Cooper reflects on his vibrant campus life, the supportive West Ottawa Community, and the importance of a Stadium opening win versus Portage Northern just 2 years ago. Cooper’s stories paint a vivid picture of his athletic and personal growth. We then wrap up with the anticipation of the upcoming football Season for both the Panthers and the Spartans, and a possible return to live game action for Coop this fall. Sit in with us as we get to know each other a little bit better.

This episode was recorded on July 22, 2024.

Podcasts drop weekly at 6 AM every Monday morning just in time for that morning commute or workout. Please like, follow, subscribe, or leave a review. Even share with someone who might like the listen. Thanks for taking the time to get to know our young student athletes and the many others that make West Ottawa Athletics what it is, a little bit better. Go WO!

Transcript

Rodney Vellinga: 0:00

Well, hey, welcome everybody to the 29 one podcast. This is our initial episode. I'm Rodney Vellinga and I'm sitting here with my co-host, Bill Kennedy, and we have probably the best guests we could have for episode one who?

Cooper Terpstra: 0:14

is it Absolutely?

Rodney Vellinga: 0:15

I don't know about that, cooper Terpstra. Does anyone recognize that laugh?

Bill Kennedy: 0:21

Yeah, coop. Coop was an eighth grader when I first started here at West Ottawa. So I got to see Coop kind of grow up big personality from the very beginning. Multi-sport athlete here at West Ottawa. So when it was talking about, hey, who's the first guest? Well, we've got to go to the. Well, we've got to go to the best guy out there, the guy with the most personality well, I appreciate you guys for having me the affable the laughable.

Rodney Vellinga: 0:49

Oh yeah, cooper turbstraff. Yeah, all right, coop. So we're gonna get started here. Uh, first of all, how's the summer going? So far, you're you're spending probably time between here and east lansing. What's that like for you?

Cooper Terpstra: 1:00

yeah, so the summer has been good. Obviously the workouts. You were a college athlete.

Cooper Terpstra: 1:05

So yeah. So I mean the workouts have been tough with the new staff, especially like last year I for one, so that it's been nice just being home. And then obviously the fourth of July break um, I gotta spend time with my family from New Jersey, uh, and then our break right now, um, going into fall camp. So yeah, I mean there's a good balance in the summer of being home, working out and stuff. But yeah, I mean it's been summer has been really good so far. How long is this current break for you? I have until tomorrow night, so four day break.

Bill Kennedy: 1:54

OK, yeah, it's been nice. Back to it. Yeah, when's the official start date for camp?

Cooper Terpstra: 2:00

July 30th, but next week we have a thing called ramp up. July 30th, but next week we have a thing called ramp up. So it's it's a four day workout series of um walkthroughs and installs, obviously with lift and running too, but um, the hard conditioning is done for the summer, which is nice.

Bill Kennedy: 2:17

That's awesome.

Rodney Vellinga: 2:17

You had a group of people in town a week or two ago. You brought the linemen into town. You tell us about that a little bit.

Cooper Terpstra: 2:23

Yeah, it was a great time. So back in the winter we were talking, trying to come up with things that would get our O-line closer. And I brought up Holland, michigan. Obviously both of you guys know that it's the best place on earth in the summer.

Rodney Vellinga: 2:39

Oh yeah.

Cooper Terpstra: 2:40

Winter is man, but summer I mean, it's a great place and yeah, I recommended that. And then I reached out to Stephanie's family and was like, hey, can we stay at your house? I didn't think they would say yes, but they said yes and yeah, it was great. We just hung around, swam, did sea dues for a day. One of our guys almost hit a yacht that was parked I like the word almost there. Yeah, no, I was freaking out because it was under my name too.

Bill Kennedy: 3:12

Probably some guys within that lineman group that have never been to Lake Michigan.

Cooper Terpstra: 3:16

Yeah, actually multiple of them. It was surprising. And the new guys coming in from Oregon and stuff Washington with Coach Smith's new recruiting class that was going to go to Oregon State flipped over to Michigan State, they were in disbelief. They thought it was an ocean Like they were calling it an ocean.

Rodney Vellinga: 3:36

Yeah, until you get here, the vision of a lake in your head certainly is in a certain framework. Oh yeah, but you hit that overlook. They probably have an overlook at lobster's place. Yeah, or you can see the water, oh well, it's crazy.

Cooper Terpstra: 3:48

It's crazy how michigan's the best place on earth I say that to everybody on our team like it's unbelievable. I mean, it being gone makes you appreciate it so much more too. Yeah the.

Rodney Vellinga: 4:00

uh, I was checking some stuff out on you, your communications major at Michigan State, so I'm glad we can be a little internship for you today.

Bill Kennedy: 4:08

That's great.

Rodney Vellinga: 4:10

But I also did notice something peculiar, not peculiar, but you got number 54 back. I did.

Cooper Terpstra: 4:15

Thank God, yeah, no. So I went to the equipment staff because the old 54, he just transferred to Arkansas so I was like, can I do it? And they were like, yeah, we just have to talk to your online coach. Talk to him and. I got to go and I didn't know when it was going to happen, so I walked up to my cubby. We have laundry cubbies that we get our clothes out of every day. I saw the 54. And I couldn't believe it. I sent a picture straight to my family group chat.

Bill Kennedy: 4:48

I'm sure Pops was super stoked about that.

Cooper Terpstra: 4:50

Yeah, it's pretty cool.

Bill Kennedy: 4:51

It's pretty cool yeah.

Rodney Vellinga: 4:53

Yeah, it was really cool to see it because I was looking at some pictures of you when you were at West Ottawa and especially after that first win over Portage Northern, everybody going to the student section. I saw a 54 there and then I saw, saw 55, and I saw, oh, he's got 54 again. Something's going on here, so that was pretty sweet.

Bill Kennedy: 5:08

Yeah, I did not have that luck in college so I was 55, more 55 in everything basketball and football in high school and then I got to college and I had to go to 51. The guy that had 55 was not coming off of it because it was his high school number as well.

Rodney Vellinga: 5:24

Um, but then you know, 51, dick buckus yeah, pretty good player so I was like all right, I'm gonna stick with 51 coop, when you get 54 back, like you're super jacked about that. What does it do for you?

Cooper Terpstra: 5:36

I don't know. I feel like there's a certain it's weird that I say this, but I feel like there's a certain level of confidence in that, because with 55 it was I mean it's not you it was.

Cooper Terpstra: 5:45

No, I've worn 54 since I was in third grade. Yeah, um, and it means something to me, and I mean not everybody's numbers mean something to them, but 54 is I mean I wore all four years here, um, well, except for my freshman year, but that's um, but yeah, I mean I've worn it since third grade and it's kind of like ingrained in me. All my stuff is 54, 54, and then it was 55, so it was kind of weird, it was like an alternate universe.

Cooper Terpstra: 6:13

Yes, yeah, it was really weird my freshman year putting on the 55, but now, like there's a certain level of confidence that, all right, I'm back to where I was in high school and that right, you know I, I can rock 54. Well, I guess I don't know. And to some extent you, you earned the right to wear it right for sure you were thought of as much by your offensive line coach to for him to say yeah, I'm going to give you the blessing to make that move.

Bill Kennedy: 6:42

So that says something a little bit about kind of what you've accomplished in a couple of years at MSU.

Rodney Vellinga: 6:47

What has been the grind? I know there's a grind during the year with spring ball and all that. What is your summer? A typical summer grind day for you, getting ready for the fall.

Cooper Terpstra: 6:58

So our workout schedule is we go Monday, tuesday, then break Wednesday, and then Thursday, friday. So we don't do conditioning every day, we do a lot of speed work too. So our conditioning is just Tuesdays and Fridays. So we'll go on Monday, and usually Mondays are the roughest days because you're coming back from home or you had a good time with your friends in East Lansing, something like that, and in the summer, like you see all your friends they're working a job, they're hanging out with their friends on a Monday, sunday night, and then you go on Monday and you're like woo back at it. But I mean, the typical day is we really get in.

Cooper Terpstra: 7:47

So our offensive group, we're at 915. So we usually have meetings around 715. Then we'll have a walkthrough at 815. And then we'll have our speed on Mondays and Thursdays and then we'll just go lift. Our lifts are pretty long, they're about an hour and a half. But on Tuesdays and Thursdays we condition before our lift and that's something else. That's a whole other beast, but I mean they're short and sweet, so it's not awful, but I mean you get through them.

Rodney Vellinga: 8:26

Well, I was saying when you came in here today. Today, this is the fittest I've ever seen you. We were talking before yeah I mean, you've always been a big husky guy, but you are fit right now, brother I feel good.

Cooper Terpstra: 8:34

I've dropped down to about 297, 300 and I was at 315 in the winter. I I was, I feel, the best I've ever felt, conditioning-wise especially. I feel like it's a mental barrier too, especially with going into those runs and stuff being like, whew, it's going to be a rough one today, but I mean, you get past it and then, when you get past it the first couple times, it's kind of normal and I feel like that's a part of the reason why I've made a body, body transition, body change, um, I, I just feel like it's a mental thing as well. Um, I've cleaned up the diet, um, so yeah, I mean, and when you do those hard runs, it makes you want to put more into the stuff that will make you benefit from it.

Bill Kennedy: 9:26

You know for sure. So you you touched on a little bit there about like kind of the mental hurdle and immediately what it brings back to me as a guy. That you know, left high school football, went and played college football. Talk to us a little bit about that first experience. Like now I'm a college football player and kind of the mental side of that? Yeah, because it's difficult. You know, a lot of kids are in the gym on signing day yeah and they're not there three weeks into a college, yeah, for sure yeah.

Cooper Terpstra: 9:58

So, um, last summer it kind of felt like I was just starstruck the whole summer, you know, I mean I wouldn't necessarily say with the guys, but with the whole system and how it's a business. It's just a whole different change. But you know, I would really say my welcome to college moment was probably like the third day camp and Derek Harmon, um, who's a really good defensive lineman for us oh, I went up against him and he justulled me like I was a little kid and I'm bigger than everybody in high school, so I never really had that done to me and I was like whoa. And then after that I was like all right, yeah, you need to work on your technique, you need to stay low. I mean everything that our coaches preach in high school and we don't do Because you don't have to, because you can get away with it.

Rodney Vellinga: 10:45

Yeah, you can absolutely get away with it.

Cooper Terpstra: 10:48

Like you really have to focus on that stuff. And yeah, it's a whole different animal. It's crazy.

Rodney Vellinga: 10:57

When you first committed to Grand Valley you had done that in your junior year and then getting to Michigan State was kind of something pretty special where that ended up happening. Can you walk us through the Wayne State visit? Going to like being committed to Grand Valley doing the Wayne State visit? Can you just walk us through what that's like?

Cooper Terpstra: 11:19

Yeah, so I was on a. When I committed to Grand Valley, I was actually in Montana visiting Montana State. It's an FCS school and I loved it. But that trip also made me realize like it's way too far away from home for me and I'm a homebody. So, yeah, so I got home, committed that day and Grand Valley great school. It was a great place to be. But literally like two days after I committed to Grand Valley, I told my cousin that I would go on a visit with him and he's actually at Wayne State now Jaden Acker.

Cooper Terpstra: 11:54

Yeah, so he's actually at Wayne State now, which is funny, but talking to all the coaches and stuff. I met their tight ends coach, Coach Lael and he. I mean, we just talked for a little bit. It's not like, Right, you're just talking to him, yeah, yeah, Talking together. And shortly after that in August he ended up at Michigan State for the GA job because it opened up and we went through my whole season and I got a couple accolades, I got like All-State and then the Detroit Free Press Dream.

Bill Kennedy: 12:32

Team.

Cooper Terpstra: 12:33

So I guess they looked at that stuff and Coach Slale recognized my name and they were looking for a couple walk-ons. So he reached out to me and he was like, would you be interested in this? And I was like, matter of fact yeah.

Cooper Terpstra: 12:49

I've been talking to coach Collins about it and he's trying to get dudes to reach out for me and he, coach Lyle, called me and he's like I don't know if you remember me and I was like and he's like, oh, I was at Wayne State. When you're there, I was like, oh, okay, yeah, yeah, I got you so you truly did not remember him well, I, I remember A little bit.

Rodney Vellinga: 13:04

Yes, yeah.

Cooper Terpstra: 13:06

Yes, Name to the face, right, yeah. But yeah, he called me that morning no-transcript. He was like Coach Kapp's going to reach out to you. This is going to be a long process, two or three weeks trying to decide who we want. And then that night Coach Kapp the head of the line coach at the time texted me, asked me if I could call that night and I was like, yeah, sure, Just gave me the spot that night and it was pretty cool. And then, obviously, a couple weeks later, I flipped. It was a hard decision.

Cooper Terpstra: 13:42

I would imagine Grand Valley is such a good school.

Bill Kennedy: 13:47

Play a very high level of football.

Cooper Terpstra: 13:49

Yeah, and especially knowing that I can go in there and be a guy in a year or two and the part of Michigan State being so unsure of what's going to happen and all that stuff like that. But I ended up betting on myself and it's kind of working out.

Rodney Vellinga: 14:07

Yeah, you did bet on yourself oh yeah. The story is still being written. This is what your dad told me. The story is still being written, but it's really great you had when they came to you. I know they thought you were a little bit undersized at the time, right, so you had to put on how much weight from the time you graduated high school till now.

Cooper Terpstra: 14:24

Well, I actually haven't had to put on any. Really, yeah, my senior year, going into football season, I was 265, maybe 255, something like that. And then I went to power strength that winter oh, and Coach Pulse, the head strength guy at the gym, I would go to um, you'd punish us if we didn't have, if we haven't gained weight like in between sessions. Yeah, so literally in four months I gained 35, 40 pounds.

Rodney Vellinga: 14:55

This is before you got to Michigan state. Oh, good for you Wow.

Cooper Terpstra: 14:59

Yeah. So I mean and it it helped a lot because, like, if I did go to state, I don't know if I would have put on sloppy weight, I wouldn't necessarily say the weight that I put on Sloppy weight.

Rodney Vellinga: 15:10

I'm familiar with that term. Yes, yeah.

Cooper Terpstra: 15:13

I wouldn't say my weight was all good, but I definitely got a lot stronger and it benefited me a lot for sure.

Bill Kennedy: 15:19

Yeah, and the guys at power strength have kind of they've been through the ringer, they've gone, worked with a ton of student athletes over the years with um trying to get things, uh, dialed in for kids that have gone on to walk on Kenny. Willekes is one of their kind of prize. Examples of a kid that you know went through the power strength way.

Bill Kennedy: 15:37

So, um, you know, as a, as a, as a guy that has always been a big fan of the power strength folks, I'm glad that you got some benefit yeah, I love power strength.

Cooper Terpstra: 15:46

I give them a lot of credit.

Rodney Vellinga: 15:47

Yeah you talk. When you talk about football, you talk about coaches a lot, so I hear collins names and some other names you've mentioned. As a player, of course, michigan state went through a lot of upheaval last year and now there's new coaches there. What is it like for you, specifically as a player, to go from one type of offensive lineman coach to another? What's it like trying to rebuild those relationships? What's that like for you?

Cooper Terpstra: 16:14

So it's not as complicated as people probably think it would be. We all know that college football is a business and there's going to be dudes coming in and out. I mean our whole new coaching staff is new and you just said that. But I feel like in some way it was a good thing for our program and for me as a player, because with Coach Smith's staff they're very. He's a lot like D'Antonio, so D'Antonio was a hardworking guy. Just put your nose down and go for it. So I mean, a lot of walk-ons benefit from Coach Smith, and Coach Smith was a walk-on himself. Coach Smith and coach Smith was walking himself. So, um, I knew that going into it, I got really, really lucky with this staff and, um, the first thing my online coach told me was that you'll get an opportunity whether you're on scholarship or not. So that was really good for me to hear and, um, building a relationship with my new coach has been the easiest thing ever. He's how?

Rodney Vellinga: 17:20

so what makes it like that?

Cooper Terpstra: 17:22

he's just, uh, he really. He reminds me a lot of my dad oh, there you go yeah, he's, he's just a good dude and we'll talk to you about your problems and you can go to him about your problems, and he has his door open whenever he's in the building so, from your perspective, you're seeing a relational.

Rodney Vellinga: 17:40

You're telling me it's a business which is good and we understand that, but it sounds like his staff also has a relational approach that they're doing A hundred percent.

Cooper Terpstra: 17:49

Yeah, with our old staff we'd have to make meetings to go up and talk to our coaches. You'd have to text them and be like, hey, can I come up at this time? Yes or no?

Cooper Terpstra: 18:01

You never know what you'd really get to get on their schedule, yeah, but and for example, in spring ball, I would literally go just walk up the stairs and go talk to coach m and we'd talk about football, life, what's going on with my girlfriend, my family and we just go over film and coach m is your offensive offensive line coach. What's his full name? Mihalchek Jim Mihalchek.

Rodney Vellinga: 18:21

Okay, fantastic.

Bill Kennedy: 18:23

He came with Coach Smith from Oregon State.

Cooper Terpstra: 18:25

Yep, I think he's been with him since Oregon State, I don't know.

Bill Kennedy: 18:32

College coaches bounce around, right, yes, and they get a lot of names on their resumes over the years for sure on their resumes over the years for sure. I want to talk a little bit about kind of the transition and going from being a high school student athlete to being a college student athlete and I guess talk to me a little bit about some things maybe that you feel like West Ottawa prepared you for in that transition.

Bill Kennedy: 18:56

But then some other things. Maybe that if we have student athletes here currently that are going to listen to this, maybe a little nugget of advice for them as they begin that transition to the collegiate level.

Cooper Terpstra: 19:08

Yeah. So I mean, in reality, nothing's really going to prepare you at the full level that you want to be prepared for, because it's just so different. But especially with football, I mean it's the schedule. You know how the schedule would change around a lot in the summer and you never really knew what was coming. It's kind of a lot like that and just always being ready for a schedule change and being willing to do it and stuff, and yeah, I think that's a big part of it. But like, obviously the lifts too are just a lot more physically taxing you know I wouldn't say it's just a big difference.

Cooper Terpstra: 19:55

I would say it's just a massive time difference, because your whole life is consumed in college with your sports, your job.

Cooper Terpstra: 20:05

Yeah, and I mean, obviously you have school on top of that too, and you have to learn how to. You have to learn how to balance those two things to the best of your ability. But in high school you're going to class and then you're going to football and that's it for the day. You don't have film or you don't have an extra lift, especially during the season, and if you do, it's like 20 minutes. But yeah, I feel like my biggest piece of advice for a current high school athlete would just be balancing your time in high school. Preparing yourself, like setting a time, setting time aside for your homework or stuff like that. After practice, getting in a rhythm of things Is that different from the high school Cooper Terpstra that we knew.

Rodney Vellinga: 20:57

Oh, absolutely yes 100% yeah yeah.

Cooper Terpstra: 21:02

Yeah, but it really does teach you in college because you have to or else you can't play.

Rodney Vellinga: 21:07

But you're done. Yeah, you don't do it. You're leaving campus, yeah.

Bill Kennedy: 21:11

I know I found when this is a long time ago, but when I played I was a better student during the season than I was outside of the season because of that time management, go into more detail on that. Well, it's all about time management During the course of the season. You're playing with very thin time constraints.

Rodney Vellinga: 21:33

Small margins right.

Bill Kennedy: 21:34

You have a limited amount of time to get the stuff in for class. Then all of a sudden you don't have the season, so you don't have those two-and three hour practices every day you still? Have lifts, yeah, which we lifted in the morning, so that was done for the day, and then you had that whole afternoon what was the gaming system back then, bill?

Rodney Vellinga: 21:52

we were sega, sega, sega, not atari. No, no, I'm not that old.

Bill Kennedy: 21:59

I had atari when I was a kid but, but in college we were up to Sega Genesis.

Rodney Vellinga: 22:03

Yeah, because that's the one thing that will take your time away from the things you're supposed to be doing. Yeah, for sure.

Cooper Terpstra: 22:08

Yeah, I think I agree with you, though my GPA in the fall was a lot better than what it was in the spring, because when you have free time you want to go do your own thing. I mean you're going to class and stuff, but I mean in college you only have one or two classes a day, yeah, so maybe sometimes not even having a class. So it's different because when when you're, especially for me, going into fall, it felt a lot like our seasons in high school, because I mean our practice would be like school for me in the morning and then I would go to my classes and then I would be done at 5. So then I would get all my work done right after classes and go to bed.

Bill Kennedy: 22:58

Right Get up and do it all over again.

Cooper Terpstra: 22:59

Yeah but in the spring I had so much time to just do whatever I want.

Bill Kennedy: 23:03

And there's a well, there's part of it too, because the first semester you're in college, you're on this very structured schedule basis, right? And you, you have less opportunity to really be a typical college student, right, yeah? So then, all of a sudden, you get to the spring and it's like oh, I'm in college, yeah, it's crazy.

Cooper Terpstra: 23:22

It's a weird feeling, that's for sure.

Rodney Vellinga: 23:24

How nice is it to be on campus there. I love Michigan State campus. What's it like for you just to be on campus there?

Cooper Terpstra: 23:33

You know it's so much fun and whenever anybody asks me what's Michigan State like? It is electric, it is, let's go. There is always stuff going on. I mean like on Wednesday nights there's music downtown, like live music. Grand River is an awesome place to be, especially for the nightlife. It's fun. Campus is always so busy in the fall spring. There's so much stuff to do. I love it. I'm so glad with my decision to go to Michigan.

Rodney Vellinga: 24:05

State when you come back here. We were in the hallway earlier and you basically said I love coming back here. Yeah, talk about West Ottawa a little bit. What's it like for you to come back in the building? Maybe some of the things that makes you think of, but what's it like for you?

Cooper Terpstra: 24:19

Well, I think it's the people you know, um, whenever I get to come back to the high school, I get to see people that I had really good connections with throughout my four years here, um, and I feel like that kind of brings me back and you know it's, it's good being back, um. But yeah, I think it comes down to the people. I mean West Ottawa, from what I've heard with other people's high school experiences on my team, it is top notch With the athletics, with the teachers. I definitely took it for granted and you don't think about that because you?

Bill Kennedy: 24:57

don't have to.

Cooper Terpstra: 24:58

It's the only thing you know.

Rodney Vellinga: 24:59

Yeah, why would?

Cooper Terpstra: 25:00

you? You don't have to think about that because you don't have to. It's the only thing you know. Yeah, why would you? You don't have to think about that? But West Ottawa is seriously like I'm going to send my kids here, like the diversity here.

Rodney Vellinga: 25:10

Yes.

Cooper Terpstra: 25:11

Like you're just getting ready for the real world, and I think that they preach that a lot and I think that it's really good, but yeah, I think it's just the people.

Bill Kennedy: 25:22

And yeah, well, we love, we love having you back. Um and I was talking to somebody the other day it might actually have been Rodney and I were talking and we were talking about, uh, when Coop comes back on Friday nights and it's just down on the sidelines and that's not something you have to do, but that's so impactful for not only the guys that are in the games on those friday nights but for those young kids right that are sitting along the wall yeah and you're a hero in their eyes, right, because you're the the west auto guy that's now playing for big 10, baby, it's big 10 playing for the spartans.

Bill Kennedy: 25:55

Um, so I just I can't thank you enough for doing that kind of stuff. When you, when we get our alumni to come back, it's not just the kids that you know that are still on that sideline, it's those younger kids that are up there watching as well.

Rodney Vellinga: 26:08

Yeah, there's also one other relationship that I get to have a bird's eye view on. So this past fall, when Coop's come back, because you redshirted this year, yep. So when Michigan State would travel, I'm assuming you would come to the games here, right?

Cooper Terpstra: 26:22

Yes.

Rodney Vellinga: 26:22

All right. So Coop comes up to the football booth and this is so nice. This is a little sweet moment of our show here. We're going to get to this, but Carl Von Enns and you have a very special relationship. It's so fun to watch what happens when you come into the booth. What do you guys do, or what's that like for you again?

Cooper Terpstra: 26:48

Well, I mean it all kind of started like my freshman, my sophomore year, I would say, or my eighth grade. I mean you always hear his voice on the loudspeakers and I mean he would sub for me in middle school and we've always talked about football and he's always called me a big guy, yeah, fat, but yeah I, I would always just go up and talk to him, yeah, and and I really enjoy talking to him because he's such a good dude. Um, so whenever I just go see him, it's just good catching up, you know, and it's and he's West Ottawa, like literally.

Rodney Vellinga: 27:23

He's Mr West Ottawa, you guys both have a lot of similar characteristics to your personality. You both are kind of outgoing, you know a lot of people, and then when the two of you kind of meet, just like this, special thing happens.

Cooper Terpstra: 27:36

He's the man. Every single time I'm back I have to come see him.

Rodney Vellinga: 27:39

Yeah, it's the best.

Bill Kennedy: 27:40

And he has a lot of people that do that. We talked a little bit about that, just the number of people that stop up at the booth, because that's the voice they've always heard.

Rodney Vellinga: 27:50

Yeah, and it's really nice just when you come up, just to let you know, when I see and I got to say this to you just from one human being to another, basically, and being to another, basically I know you a little bit, yeah, but I do feel like I'm your, one of your good friends for some reason. I think that's the way you make people feel in general, so it's just really nice to always have you back on campus and see you like that.

Bill Kennedy: 28:09

appreciate that I'm gonna jump to one thing real quick here. So as I drive up and I, as I just did, and I park out in front of the athletic office, you know we've got our, our up on the wall and one of my all-time favorite photos is the night after we beat Portage Northern 21-10, opening the stadium at West Ottawa and seeing the. It was a very organic celebration that occurred right and it's now started a tradition.

Rodney Vellinga: 28:35

Yeah, it's an epic photo, by the way. It's an unbelievable photo. It's timeless. It'll go on forever.

Bill Kennedy: 28:40

But we've got West Ottawa, we've got Cooper up on the front of the student section, arms raised up, the teammates all around the student section going bonkers, talk a little bit about, I guess, what that was like kind of leading up to that event, right, because you had seen the really dark days of West. Ottawa football and you lived through that and on the back end you got to open the best stadium in the midwest and start to feel the taste of victory again yeah, that picture is incredible.

Cooper Terpstra: 29:13

I love that picture. And shout out laura. Yeah, shout out laura one minute Vildoff Photography.

Rodney Vellinga: 29:20

Sponsor of the 29.1 podcast.

Cooper Terpstra: 29:22

Thank you, laura. Yeah, but that night was so emotional for me and every single senior because you're right, like I get chills thinking about it right now. Yeah, we went through so much together in my junior year, my sophomore year. We were always like, oh, maybe we can sneak away a couple games. You know, my sophomore year we were always like maybe we can sneak away a couple of games. You know, I mean, we weren't we weren't really good.

Cooper Terpstra: 29:46

Well, obviously we weren't good, but like we had the people to win and we all decided our senior year that it was absolutely culture thing. And you know, going into my senior year, we all got a lot closer, but not to the point where we needed to be.

Rodney Vellinga: 30:03

How'd that change?

Cooper Terpstra: 30:06

We actually went on a retreat to Coach Beed's. I was at Grand Haven for those of you who don't know, we went to his cabin by Midland. It was just a senior retreat and all of us went there. Something happened. I can't put it to words, but, like that weekend alone, it changed our whole season because, like, for example, our Portage Northern game that we're just talking about, we scored a long drive, first drive, I think. We got the ball their first play, throw a touchdown Yep, they're quarterbacks at Wayne state now, but we're.

Cooper Terpstra: 30:48

We were like, oh, this is real, and but but the the difference is the year before we would have blamed it on somebody and then it would have just completely fallen apart. But after that we all huddled up and we're like no way this, we let this affect us. And then we scored another touchdown and then I think we scored 21 points before halftime. Yeah, um, yeah, and that that was the last time they scored that game. They just kicked the field goal right. So, yeah, that that moment means so much to me and, um, especially for the other dudes in my grade that I'm still so close with to this day. We still talk about it every single time.

Cooper Terpstra: 31:31

We hang out and it is just unbelievable how we were able to make that culture change. Yeah, and we needed that and we're all so proud of that yeah, and it's.

Bill Kennedy: 31:42

It was a. It was a culture change, not only for the football program but, I think, athletics as a whole here at west ottawa. Really, there was a a change that occurred when that facility opened. There's a sense of pride that we have in that facility. There's a sense of um, you know, on the friday nights, the communities together, right, it's packed every friday night, um, but that, yeah, that photo will forever have a place here in the building somewhere it's got to go up somewhere because it's.

Rodney Vellinga: 32:12

It's too good, it's absolutely a classic, up somewhere it's too good.

Bill Kennedy: 32:13

It's absolutely a classic. Bill's putting it on his AD schedule right now, it was the first win here, and then to finish the year then we were kind of on the brink Could we get into the playoffs, but we had to beat Jenison and you get to close out your time with a win, not a lot of people.

Cooper Terpstra: 32:36

I can say that they did that, which is pretty cool, and you know I I talked to people about it. Still, it would have been so good to go to the playoffs, but in reality we're I mean, we're not a state championship team so, but it was just an algorithm that kept you out, right?

Rodney Vellinga: 32:50

I mean, it's a mathematical formula.

Cooper Terpstra: 32:52

Well, I mean, we had 12, 12 opportunities to get in, with teams losing, and all of them didn't go our way. So you know, that night I was at peace with it. Yeah, and there's part of me that wishes I could relive that game, just to know it was my last, because I didn't know at the time that it would be my last. That's part of it, man. So that sucks. But um, yo, I'm at peace with it because not a lot of people say that they can like that they won their last high school game and I think that's for especially for the younger guys on that team that we were trying to help build up, build their culture. I think that was really good for them going into last year.

Bill Kennedy: 33:36

For sure, yeah, and you still have some connections to the current team, right?

Cooper Terpstra: 33:44

Obviously, you and Connor Knapp are pretty close. Yeah, he's one of my best friends.

Bill Kennedy: 33:47

What are you expecting from the Panthers this fall?

Cooper Terpstra: 33:51

You know I don't know yet. Okay, I I'm very I will tell you this I'm so confident in coach Collins and his coaching staff, though, Um, he came in here with nothing. Turn it into something. So I think that we're going to be good. I think that this is going to be the best year that coach Collins has had here. But I think that this is going to be the best year that Coach Collins has had here, but I mean, you guys know it all depends on the OK Red.

Rodney Vellinga: 34:18

The OK Red, it's the gauntlet.

Cooper Terpstra: 34:20

It's tough but I think with their skill guys especially, they're probably going to have the most speed in the OK Red and Elijah Reynolds like he's something else.

Bill Kennedy: 34:33

He's probably our next Big Ten type player.

Cooper Terpstra: 34:39

He's a dude, and Connor too. Like Connor, has a great arm, great leader. So I'm excited to see what they can do. It's going to be fun. I've got to go back for the Rockford game.

Bill Kennedy: 34:49

Okay.

Cooper Terpstra: 34:50

We all know that.

Bill Kennedy: 34:51

We hate Rockford Well, and we'll be close to you in week number one because we're at Grand Ledge.

Cooper Terpstra: 34:56

Yeah, I don't know.

Bill Kennedy: 34:58

Are you guys playing the?

Cooper Terpstra: 34:58

29th of.

Bill Kennedy: 34:59

August. We're playing Thursday of that first week.

Cooper Terpstra: 35:02

Okay. Oh, that's right because you play Friday night.

Bill Kennedy: 35:06

We play Friday.

Rodney Vellinga: 35:08

So, coop, that being said, your last game against Jenison has been the last football game you've played. Yeah, that is mind-boggling to me. That's October of 2022.

Cooper Terpstra: 35:22

Yeah, yeah, last year. I was itching man, especially in those games that we were winning. I was like just put me in for a couple snaps man.

Rodney Vellinga: 35:33

I'm right here, yeah but I get it.

Cooper Terpstra: 35:35

I mean, none of the other freshmen played last year and um obviously have to earn your spot. So I think the first, the first game, um against fau, and then when we play prairie view a&m in b College, I think I'll get in. I'm running too deep right now, so we'll see, can you?

Rodney Vellinga: 35:57

explain what too deep means to the non-football listener.

Cooper Terpstra: 36:00

Yeah, so I'm second string, so it doesn't necessarily mean that if the center goes down that I'm going to be starting, but I'm like in the top ten guys. So especially for center, I'm number two. But I mean there's other dudes that could play center. But yeah, I think that eventually I'll be able to get a couple snaps this year, which will be pretty cool. I mean, it's something I've always dreamed about.

Bill Kennedy: 36:29

Yeah.

Rodney Vellinga: 36:31

Your coach came. Bill shared this with me last week. Maybe you can speak to this, but I know you're working out here and you talked with bill. Uh, coach smith came up and said something to you that had a bit of an impact on you. Do you remember what that was?

Bill Kennedy: 36:44

what you told bill you're talking to me a little bit about, uh, as the season or maybe one of your workouts spring ball maybe it was ending and he kind of called you in and was talking to you about being a walk-on. This isn't really normal for a walk-on to be where you are.

Cooper Terpstra: 37:01

Yeah. So he had a sheet of his notes from the meeting with Coach M, my online coach, and he kind of just was going over it and read exactly what it said. He just said that I was too deep and that I would be traveling. And he kind of looks up and he's like whoa, and he's like it's pretty cool that you're walking and you can do this your second year. So that was really cool to me. That stuck out Especially. You know, the part that sticks out to me too is that he would take his time to maybe spend because not all walk-ons are great, I mean, and I'm nowhere near great, but, um, like it, just it's really cool to me that he spends time with dudes that are not on scholarship because he wants to know everybody's opinion. With our old staff it wasn't like that at all. They didn't shoo us off, but yeah, with Coach Smith he puts time in everybody.

Rodney Vellinga: 38:00

Yeah, I think him being a walk-on at Oregon State back in the late 90s. I mean, he knows what you're going through.

Cooper Terpstra: 38:09

Yeah, literally the first thing he said. He said I was a walk-on on myself and I promised my coach, since he gave me an opportunity, that I would give every single walk on an opportunity. So he goes I don't care if you're a walk, I don't care if you're in scholarship, the best 22 dudes are gonna play there you go.

Rodney Vellinga: 38:26

Yeah, that's a lot of incentive and like not that you don't already have it yeah um you uh end up playing in the Maryland Terrapins this year. I took a look at that schedule. Somebody in this room is a big Maryland.

Bill Kennedy: 38:38

Terrapin fan. Oh yeah, you got to go to the Snake Pit. It's called the Snake Pit. Well, college Park, college Park, that's just. You know, we like to call it the Snake Pit.

Rodney Vellinga: 38:49

So where is the Bill Kennedy? What are you going to? Cheer for a coop to get into the game, have the best game of his life, but the terrapins pull it out by one no, I think you know terps up big second half and coop gets some run.

Bill Kennedy: 39:04

I mean it's, that's the ideal you know, but my but my wife is a spartan so I that is definitely a weekend where we have the house divided. We call it the dog collar game at my house because our dog depending on who wins the game, that's the schools. So he's wearing a Maryland. He's wearing a Michigan State right now because State beat Maryland during basketball season.

Cooper Terpstra: 39:27

It's always football and basketball.

Bill Kennedy: 39:30

I keep trying to get her to let me add lacrosse into the mix, and she just won't go for it.

Rodney Vellinga: 39:36

Yeah, that East Coast lacrosse.

Cooper Terpstra: 39:38

That would be unfair. It would be unfair.

Bill Kennedy: 39:40

That's hilarious. But yeah, my dad was a 40-plus year season ticket holder for the. University of Maryland, so that's the place I've seen more games than any place on earth. Actually, the first time Michigan State went to Maryland, my wife and I went down. So yeah, Go Sparty, but except for week two.

Cooper Terpstra: 40:03

I'm excited too. That'll be fun. I'm excited to go out there. I mean, I've been to the airport in Baltimore, but that's about it.

Rodney Vellinga: 40:11

Yeah, you get to travel this year. I mean, you won't have those Friday nights available to come back which we get, but you're going to be on the road. I know you've got some games on the West Coast too, right, yeah.

Cooper Terpstra: 40:21

Oregon Knock on wood. I'm traveling.

Rodney Vellinga: 40:24

Stay healthy during camp.

Cooper Terpstra: 40:26

Yeah, I mean Oregon will be sweet. That's something I'm really looking forward to, so I got to see a game.

Bill Kennedy: 40:33

I lived in eugene for a little bit actually when coach smith was the quarterback at oregon state, um. So I got to see a game at ottson, um, and I also got to see a game at husky stadium in seattle, um both unbelievable venues. That's the part I think of being a big time college football player I'm always jealous of is the opportunities to go into all of those away stadiums, and some of the best venues in the history of college football are in the Big Ten. I've been to a lot of them over the years.

Cooper Terpstra: 41:06

It will be pretty cool. I'm really excited for that.

Rodney Vellinga: 41:09

Well, this has been great, but I do want to get to one more thing that's really important to me, and it's your golf game this summer. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Cooper Terpstra: 41:17

Yeah, I mean I've I've gotten down to a lot lower handicap, so I would uh, I mean I would always lose my dad. I would. I would be beating him by a stroke or two, going into the sixth or seventh hole, and then I would just have a couple eights and then he'd beat me every time. So I took it upon myself this summer to go golfing a lot and it's helped a lot. So finally figured out how to hit my irons a little bit, my driver's going straighter, yeah, I mean my handicap's at 11 or 12 right now.

Rodney Vellinga: 41:50

Okay, that's impressive.

Cooper Terpstra: 41:52

It's hard to turn around, though it's hard to get through the ball, the big body.

Bill Kennedy: 42:00

A lot of stuff to move there.

Rodney Vellinga: 42:02

Have you been able to take down Big Jim? I have.

Cooper Terpstra: 42:05

I've been cooking him, man. I beat him by 10 strokes last time we played.

Rodney Vellinga: 42:10

Sorry, jim Terpster, we had to talk about some golf.

Cooper Terpstra: 42:13

Sorry to do it to you. Sorry, Dad.

Rodney Vellinga: 42:17

Alright. Well, this has been absolutely fantastic. This is our first ever episode of the 29-1, our first ever guest Michigan State offensive lineman Cooper Terpstra. He's loved by all and it's been really great to sit down with you, man.

Cooper Terpstra: 42:31

Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you guys so much for having me.

Rodney Vellinga: 42:33

It's, it's been a really good time, absolutely anytime, my man all right, we'll see you out in east lansing at spartan stadium. Let's do it all right. Thanks, man yeah sweet Thank you.