[Tuck4Bama]

Ron Cooper figured the questions were coming.

It has been a year since South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier summoned Cooper from the locker room at Commonwealth Stadium and asked him to explain to reporters what coverage the Gamecocks were in when they nearly coughed up a two-touchdown lead in the last four minutes against Kentucky.

It was an awkward scene as a USC sports information official led Cooper into the room while the secondary coach was still knotting his tie. Though the incident garnered headlines here and drew a blurb in USA Today, Cooper did not think much of it — then or now.

In his younger days, Cooper might have reacted differently. But the man who spent his 20s and 30s chasing the next job has found that “happy place” that therapists talk about.

Cooper and his family enjoy living in Columbia. He works with a proven winner in Spurrier and oversees the nation’s top-ranked pass defense.

Cooper solves secondary equation