Already new assistant coach Ron Cooper is paying off for the USF football team, and he hasn't had to coach a down.

Tuesday the Bulls received a commitment from junior college cornerback Howard Wilder who chose USF over Big Ten champion Wisconsin as well as SEC schools Missouri and Kentucky.

Wilder directly mentioned Cooper's having coached former first-round picks Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne while at LSU. Last year Cooper was the Buccaneers' secondary coach.

Tampa Bay Times writer Greg Auman had the story, viewable HERE in full.

Wilder (6-0, 185) comes from Pierce College in Los Angeles.