Cooper to be sentenced next week

Former University of Maine football player Stephen Cooper will learn his fate in a week. The linebacker is set to be sentenced in Federal District Court in Bangor on March 12th.

Back on November 1st Cooper was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over on I-95 in Hampden, during the traffic stop, the officer found three bags that contained an illegal anabolic steroid. Cooper pleaded guilty to steroid possession on December 19th. He says he had planned to use the steroids to build muscle, in hopes of continuing his career in the NFL.

Cooper's attorney, Terrence Harrigan, expects Cooper to receive probation as a sentence.

Cooper was two-time nominee for the Buch Buchanon award, which goes to the NCAA-1A defensive player of the year.  Cooper just returned from the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. The combine is a testing site for prospective NFL players. Harrigan said that Cooper garnered interst from the New York Jets, who like him as a linebacker and maybe as a fulback.