Cosper said, "After playing for Coach Wade, I remember when I reported in 1948, we thought Pearl River had hired a boot camp instructor for a coach. It took some time, but we all grew to love him. But he worked the dog out of us. I remember we used to have to run the same play over and over again until we got it right."

Cosper first attended PRC in 1945. His family moved from Columbia to Prentiss and Prentiss High School did not have a football team. So his family let him come to PRC to play football. When the season ended, he returned to Prentiss High to graduate. He returned to PRC in 1947 to play college ball for Coach Wade.