As a junior last season, Cooper receiver D’Andre Ralston showed flashes, but playing in a support role to older teammates, he was never able to establish himself as a featured part of the Cougars offense.

Fast forward just one year, and the 5-foot-10, 180 pound senior is finally in a position to show the type of playmaker he can be.

After doing exactly that in the Cougars’ opener, catching eight passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in a 34-16 loss to Keller, Ralston would have every reason to be excited about his place in the Cooper offense and the success that breakout performance might foretell. But being the team-first player he is, the senior was more focused instead on the things he could do better to make his team — and teammates — more successful.