Warriors land people-moving OL from Canada

Seeking future protection, the University of Hawaii football team secured a 2026 commitment from an offensive lineman from Canada.

Cooper Troy of Harry Ainlay High in Edmonton told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser he has accepted an offer from the Rainbow Warriors. Troy, who is 6 feet 4 and 310 pounds, is a skilled pass protector and a self-styled people mover with his blocks.

“I love football,” Troy said. “I love hitting people. I love getting the ball moving. I move people. I hustle a lot.”

Troy made his pledge after completing his UH-sponsored recruiting trip on Sunday.

“I loved everything about it,” Troy said. “I love the O-line coach, Derek Fa‘avi, as a coach and as a person. I love his temperament. I feel I’ll be able to learn a lot from him. He coached in Japan. He coached everywhere. He seems very open-minded, and willing to teach in different ways. To me, that’s massive. I like to learn visually. I need a lot of repetition. I need to put in the work to be good at anything. He seems like the type of coach who’s willing to help me with that.”

Troy said Ainlay High’s head coach used to coached Brock Ralph, who was teammates with UH head coach Timmy Chang and offensive coordinator Anthony Arceneaux in the Canadian Football League.

“I knew tons of good things about Timmy Chang,” Troy said. “I have tons of confidence in Timmy Chang and Coach Arceneaux.”

Troy also said he enjoyed what he called the Warriors’ “honest, genuine and relaxed kind of energy. Everyone seemed happy. And Hawaii’s beautiful.”

Troy said he even prefers Hawaii’s humidity to Edmonton’s extreme weather the last two years.

“Two years ago, it was minus-57,” Troy said. “It was unbelievably cold. In Canada, if it hails, if you get freezing rain, you still go to work and school. Minus-57 is so cold even Canadians won’t get out of the house.”

He also was impressed with Hawaii’s environmental-protection laws — “that was a huge part for me” — and plate lunches. It was the first time he ate chicken katsu and meat jun. “I loved them both,” he said. “Maybe not game-changing, but they were up there. Delicious.”

Troy’s experience in other activities transcends to playing on the offensive line. He competed in rugby, discus, shot put, and wrestling — each requiring different uses of strength, footwork, balance and leverage. His work ethic was illustrated working as a lumberjack, landscaper and for a contracting company that scraped out garbage compactors and repaired balers.

Playing the drums complements his love of music. Last year, he said he listened to 130,000 minutes of metal, rock and pop songs, mostly during drives of a couple of hours from his home in Leduc to Ainlay High’s campus in Edmonton to a training facility in Sherwood Park and then back home. He also coaches youth football teams.

“I like to coach,” he said. “It really improves my understanding of the game.”