Sooner Punter Has Plan for Success

NORMAN, Okla. -- Some people know exactly where they're going in life. The plan of action is already laid out and the decisions have been made. All the determination, passion and hard work are right there as well.

The rest of the world has all of the above, except for a drawn out plan of where they want to go in life. This philosophy of taking life as it comes and taking advantage of opportunities along the way has worked out very nicely for some people. Look at senior punter Michael Cohen and you will see a young man who has followed the latter approach. Since he was young, by his own admission, he's gone "wherever the wind blows."

Growing up in Texas, Cohen explained that playing sports is simply the thing to do when you're younger. Football was, of course, in the picture, but his start as a punter began in the simplest of ways - a friend needed him.

"My friend John was a kicker and he'd need the ball to get back to him," Cohen said. "I just started punting it back to him. My dad would always get mad at me for hitting cars and stuff."

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After his buddy, John, talked him into continuing to punt, an opportunity to pursue that career in high school unexpectedly came up. Once again, his good friend, John, talked Cohen into punting for a spot on the varsity team at Cypress Falls High School.

"I actually didn't want to punt because I liked to block," Cohen said. "But our punter was hurt and John talked me into trying out to take his place. I got the spot, and the two of us were the only sophomores on varsity that year."

The talent to be a successful punter was there, along with an open mindset and the combination allowed Cohen to continue to learn and improve. The next step for him would be moving from Houston, with a population of more than two million to Kilgore, Texas, population 11,000, to attend Kilgore College. While Kilgore was a time for learning, the experience prepared him for something he had no idea would be coming down the road.

"At first I hated it, going from Houston to a small town," Cohen said. "I ended up liking it a lot; it was like a big family. The whole town would show up for the games. It's completely different from being at OU. It makes me appreciate everything that I have now."

Cohen produced two good years at junior college, and then the recruiting process began. In the meantime, a job came up out of the blue because of his brother. Cohen's brother, Mark, worked at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Houston, and needed Michael to deliver a car to Norman, of all places. While he was in Norman to deliver the car, he met up with some distant relatives he had never met before and they offered Cohen some advice.

"I was delivering the car to Norman to my cousin and I visited with some family," Cohen said. "They were like 'why don't you come up here and play?' At the time, I though it was kind of dumb because Oklahoma already had a punter on the team."

After Cohen returned to Texas, his relatives let him know that the punting position had opened up and the team was in need of a new punter. A Norman newspaper was the only reason Cohen's family found out about the open spot on the team.

"I wouldn't have known anything about the punting position being open if it weren't for coming up here and seeing the newspaper," Cohen said. "No one thinks about that. My family here had never met me before and then they pull out the paper and show me about the punting position being open."

Cohen decided Norman was the place for him to be even if he never considered it in the beginning.

"I knew I wasn't finished playing football," Cohen said. "I figured I was just supposed to be here after all that happened because I was up here on a whim."

Success has always been something that Cohen has pursued, and his performance on the football team at OU reflects that. Although special teams coordinator Chris Wilson admits that Cohen's position does not always get the most attention, his discipline, hard work and talent have not gone unnoticed.

"He always comes out and competes, especially when he's not in a position that's looked at as frequently as others," Wilson said. "His hard work ethic shows in his play every week."

As for the future, the plan remains the same - that there is no plan. It's something that some people may not prefer, but it has worked all along for Cohen and he hopes it will continue.

"I know how to work hard, and I want to be successful no matter what," Cohen said. "I don't really know what I want to do after college. I'm just going to go where ever the wind blows."

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Feature by Stephanie Turner | OU Athletics Media Relations

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