Replacing a school and district record holder in Noah Garcia, Cooper running back Jeremiah Riley entered this season with some pretty big shoes to fill.

But coach Aaron Roan doesn’t want the 5-foot-7, 185-pound junior to view himself as Garcia’s successor. He just wants Riley to be himself.

A punishing runner with a low center of gravity, Riley operates a little differently than his predecessor, but he’s proving capable of handling that featured back load. And after watching the junior top 100 yards in the Cougars’ opener last week, Roan is excited to see what the rest of the season holds for him.