Let The Festivities Begin: Huskies Are Headed To Cactus Bowl
December 07, 2014 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Finally, Deontae Cooper had the season he has been waiting for. After all of the knee injuries and waiting, the running back put together a healthy and productive year for Washington.
Now it is time to celebrate. With the Huskies headed to the Cactus Bowl on Jan. 2 in Tempe, Ariz. – the program's fifth straight postseason trip – Cooper gets to end the year with his teammates.
“It's exciting just to get away for a week,” he said. “I know it's not a vacation, but it is a time for us to get closer as a team, see each other for a week every day, practice and enjoy the bowl game festivities.
“It's going to be fun to get out there and have fun.”
Cooper traveled with the team to the Fight Hunger Bowl last season, but didn't get a carry in the game. This year, though, Cooper has rushed for 301 yards on 61 carries in addition to catching 16 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown.
The opportunity to contribute this season now allows to Cooper to take a “different approach” to this year's bowl preparations.
“I've got a different stance than I've had the last couple of years,” he said. “I'm going to be playing, practice and contributing, which is fun and exciting. I'm looking forward to knowing I'll just be part of the puzzle and not be hurt or just watching.”
In addition to preparing for the game during the team's week in San Francisco last year, the Huskies fed the homeless on Christmas and took a ferry out to Alcatraz.
Those opportunities to give back and bond with teammates made the trip about more than simply one more opportunity to play football.
“Those festivities are enjoyable,” Cooper said. “You get to go and give back to someone who is less fortunate than you. It really makes you sit back and reflect on your own life and really count your blessings.”
Cooper has been waiting years to be able to use healthy and productive as ways to describe his season since he enrolled early in 2010. He can now use both of those words to sum up 2014 season, making the Huskies' trip to Tempe even more meaningful.
“We're all going to enjoy it,” Cooper said. “We're all going to have fun. Whenever you get to play a bowl game, it's a good experience. It's something you want to be a part of.”
