Brother of Chicago Bears' Cole Kmet stars as quarterback at St. Viator High School
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) -- On the high school football scene, St. Viator is off to a 3-0 start this season, led by senior quarterback Cooper Kmet.
Much like his older brothers Cole and Casey, Cooper played baseball before switching to football, and he's hitting it out of the park as a dual-threat quarterback.
Cooper Kmet played baseball up until his freshman year at St. Viator, but stopped to focus on football.
"I was kind of everywhere when I played on flag football so I didn't really stick to one until I got here and I've loved it since," Cooper said.
It didn't take long for his skillset as a quarterback in tackle football to shine. Cooper won the starting job for the Lions on varsity in the middle of his sophomore season.
"He had a win in his first start and carried us into playoffs from there and obviously throughout all of last season. I think he's still that same person, the same person that listens well, that works hard, that wants to win," said head coach Davis Archibald.
Cooper helped the Lions win their first playoff game since 2016 last year and is poised for another successful season as one of several returning starters.
"I think I've grown a lot the last two years," Cooper said. "[We've] had some great seniors come in this program. They've helped me out a lot from Michael Nix two years ago. He helped me a lot. Last year's seniors were very… [they] kina introduced us to the traditions here, and this year, we've got, I think, 17 returning [seniors]."
Archibald called Cooper's rise "fantastic." He added, "And his knowledge of the game, the way he sees the field, and he's a great young man. He's a great listener. He worked really hard, obviously very competitive, but also very even keel."
Those are traits that seemingly run in the Kmet family. Chicago Bears tight end and team captain Cole Kmet was able to work with Cooper ahead of his senior season.
"It's great to see him basically every day," Cooper said. "[To] throw with him in the offseason, so it's nice."
So, has working with his brother helped Cooper grow?
"Yeah, it helped me a lot this year," he said. "I think this offseason, we did the most together, so kind of gained a connection of throwing too so it was nice. It was hard with him. He's a lot faster than some of the guys I've thrown to, but he's a lot of help with that."
Of course, growing up with three older siblings also helped shape Cooper's competitiveness. His older brother Casey played baseball at Notre Dame and his sister Frankie played lacrosse and was a competitive dancer.
So it begged the question. Does Cooper think he's the most competitive of the family?
"I think so," he said. "My middle brother Casey, I think, is close to that. I think he's very competitive, but we all get intense when we play games, so it's fun. [We] play pool basketball and that gets intense, very intense. We get yelled at by our parents to calm down sometimes."
That intensity is on display every Friday night, which has resulted in two Division I offers for Cooper from Southern Mississippi and the University of Tennessee at Martin. For now though, Cooper is focused on helping his team make a third-straight playoff appearance.
"We just all want to make state," he said. "We know we can do it with this team, so I think we all just have a set goal of winning."
