Week 5: Marquez Cooper and Collin Schlee, Kent State

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Photo courtesy Kent State Athletics

Kent State University quarterback Collin Schlee and running back Marquez Cooper, who starred at suburban Maryland high schools, are the Washington Metro College Players of the Week after turning in career performances in the Golden Flashes’ 31-24 overtime victory against Ohio this past Saturday.

Schlee, a redshirt junior from Oakdale High in his first season as a starter, completed 24 of 37 passes for 398 yards and also rushed for the game-tying touchdown late in regulation.

Cooper, a junior from Quince Orchard High, rushed a staggering 40 times for 240 yards two touchdowns, including the game-winning one-yard score in overtime.

“It’s 365, 24/7 with him – the kid absolutely loves everything that is required to be an elite-level back,” Kent State Coach Sean Lewis said. “His competitive spirit, his competitive stamina. The way he works and he trains and takes care of himself year-round allows him to be that workhorse featured back for us. … He’s just consistently good, not occasionally great. It doesn’t surprise me he can tote the rock that many times and not wear down.”

While Cooper is used to being Kent State’s featured running back – last season he became the team’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 10 years – Schlee is seeing his first significant action since leading Oakdale to the Maryland 2A title in 2018. (Cooper led Quince Orchard to the Maryland 4A title that same year.)

And Schlee was thrown right into the fire against perhaps the nation’s most challenging nonconference schedule, with road games at Washington, Oklahoma and Georgia. The Golden Flashes were competitive in two of those games, helping prepare Schlee for Saturday, when he directed the game-tying drive after Ohio had taken a 24-17 lead with less than four minutes left in regulation.

“He doesn’t lack confidence very much and I think that this is going to continue to help with that,” Lewis said. “With all the work that we talk about all the time, at the end of the day all of us need a payday. Work is great, but you need to cash that check every now and again. Being able to put in that work and throw for almost 400 yards, that’s a testament to him and doing the next thing the right way and it’s a testament to what he’s done the past three years quietly in the dark while he’s been waiting for this opportunity and while he’s trained for this opportunity.”

This week’s DC Touchdown Club Washington Metro College Football Player of the Week Honor Roll is:

  • Catholic QB Nico Casares, making his first career start on his birthday, completed 31 of 46 passes for 448 yards and five touchdowns as the Cardinals beat MIT, 42-7.

  • William & Mary K Ethan Chang (Marshall) made two field goals, including a school-record 57-yarder, as the Tribe beat Stony Brook, 27-10.

  • Holy Cross WR Jalen Coker (Potomac Falls) caught 10 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown as the Crusaders beat Harvard, 30-21.

  • Bowie State QB Dion Golatt Jr. (Riverdale Baptist) completed 32 of 40 passes for a school-record 439 yards and four touchdowns as the Bulldogs beat Livingstone, 53-7.

  • Alabama S DeMarcco Hellams (DeMatha) made six tackles, recovered two fumbles and broke up a pass as the Crimson Tide beat Arkansas, 49-26.

  • McDaniel DB Earl Spicer (Westlake) made 11 tackles with two tackles for loss, intercepted two passes and broke up two passes as the Green Terror beat Dickinson, 21-13.

  • Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa completed 32 of 41 passes for 314 yards and one touchdown as the Terrapins beat Michigan State, 27-13.

  • Southern Cal QB Caleb Williams (Gonzaga) completed 27 of 37 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns and rushed eight times for 44 yards and one touchdown as the Trojans beat Arizona State, 42-25.