PERSONAL: Born June 19, 1979 in Wareham, Massachusetts linebacker and quarterback at Wareham High School earned all-scholastic honors from Boston Globe and Boston Herald in football and basketball set school scoring record in basketball lettered in track.

In his first year as a starter, linebacker Stephen Cooper became one of the key cogs in the Chargers’ defense.



Unfortunately his second year as one of the team’s starting inside linebackers will be put on hold. In April, the NFL announced that Cooper will be suspended for the Chargers’ first four regular season games for violating the NFL’s Policy on Steroids and Related Substances. He will be missed.



In 2007, Cooper led the team with 179 tackles in the regular season and tallied double-digit tackle totals in 13 of the team’s 16 regular season games. He also paced the team in the playoffs with 38 total tackles and double digit tallies in two of the team’s three playoff games, including 18 against Indianapolis in the Divisional Playoffs.



Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith had a feeling that Cooper was on the fast track to a breakout season and the Bolts inked him to a new five-year deal in 2007 before the season even started. It was quite a climb for a player who originally found his way to the NFL as an undrafted rookie from the University of Maine.



Cooper enjoys playing basketball and spending time with his son, Koby, and daughter, Karis. Stephen is the third-oldest of five children and he often returns to his native Wareham, Mass. to visit his family. Cooper was a quarterback in high school and led Wareham to a Super Bowl championship in 1995. In 2006, the school retired his No. 4 jersey during the Chargers’ bye week and Cooper attended the ceremony. As a collegian at the University of Maine, Cooper switched to defense as a linebacker and went on to become the Atlantic-10 Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.



Stephen is the first member of the Cooper family to graduate from college. He has already decided that when the time comes to hang up his football helmet, he would like to pursue a career in teaching and coaching.