Notebook: Cooper rusty; Jenkins contrite

<p>Riley Cooper is not in the best shape, but it’ll do for now.</p><p> After agreeing in principal to a professional baseball contract with the Texas Rangers that will allow him to play his senior season of football at Florida, Cooper showed up to the first day of fall practice a little rusty.</p><p> Cooper, who was drafted by the Rangers in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball Draft in June, spent most of his summer playing for the McKinney Marshals of the Texas Collegiate League, where he batted .182 in 13 games.</p><p> But the batting gloves are gone for the moment and his helmet now covers much more than just ears. The only thing he’s lacking is a pair of football legs, something he’s confident will come.</p><p> “This is my fourth year, so I don’t think I’m too far behind,” Cooper said after Florida’s Thursday's morning practice.</p><p> Losing Cooper could have been tough for Florida. For starters, senior quarterback – and Cooper’s roommate – Tim Tebow might have lost his potential go-to receiver if he’d opted to stay in Texas. The Gators also would have lost a powerful senior voice in the locker room, something fellow senior David Nelson said was one of the reasons he tried to “re-recruit” Cooper back to UF.</p><p> Nelson said the two exchanged text messages throughout the summer. Nelson said he earned the name “Urban” from Cooper because of his persistence.</p><p> Those efforts are one reason Nelson takes partial credit for Cooper’s return.</p><p> “It means a lot when you have your coaches are calling you and you have the media talking to you, but when your teammates want you back, especially receivers — the guys you spend all your time with – when they come and ask you questions and they really want you back that really means a lot,” Nelson said. “That’s what he told us in front of the team and he said he couldn’t leave us, he couldn’t leave all these guys.”</p><p> Cooper didn’t mention Nelson’s texts, but he did say it was the thought of joining a dynasty that weighed heavily on his decision.</p><p> “I love football and I love baseball and I wanted to come back and contribute for a third national championship,” he said.</p><p> Cooper might be Florida’s most experienced receiver, but that’s no guarantee of a starting spot. He missed all of spring and summer workouts and even his roomie agrees that he’ll have to earn his way back onto the field.</p><p> “We’re not going to hand out a job or you’re not going to have a job just because you had one last year,” Tebow said. “You’ve got to come in and compete. That’s what he wants and that’s what everybody wants. … We don’t want anything given to us, we want to earn it.”</p><p><b>Jenkins growing up</b></p><p>Sophomore cornerback Janoris Jenkins said he’s grown up a lot since being charged with affray and resisting arrest without violence after running from officers following a fight back in May.</p><p>Jenkins, who signed a deferred prosecution agreement and performed community service work to clear his record, said he’s gotten a lot of support from his teammates since the incident.</p><p>“It was a big learning experience,” he said. “I had a little off-the-field issue, but I bounced back from that. I gotta keep my head up, be strong and go forward.”</p><p>Jenkins said he’s unsure if he’ll be suspended.</p><p><b>M.I.A.</b></p><p>Thursday morning’s practice was for veteran players, but a few vets never made it. Senior linebacker Dustin Doe (suspension), junior safety Ahmad Black (back) and junior linebacker Brandon Hicks (who was set to practice in the afternoon session) were absent. Redshirt junior running back Emmanuel Moody and senior receiver Carl Moore spent most of the morning in the pit nursing what appeared to be minor injuries.</p>