Running back Nic Cooper emerged from the Winston-Salem State locker room Saturday with a large icepack wrapped around his right shin.
About an hour after the Rams' dream season ended with a 21-14 loss to Wayne State, Cooper couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment.
"It does hurt," he said of the Rams falling two wins short of the Division II championship. "You can see the finish line, but you can't get there. It's like you pull a hamstring, and you can't get there. It's a sick feeling."
Cooper, who rushed for 1,808 yards and scored 24 touchdowns this season, was the heart and soul of the highest scoring offense in school history. With quarterback Kameron Smith's passing and Cooper's running, the Rams' balance kept opponents off balance all season.
Cooper, a 6-foot, 245-pound redshirt junior, ranks fourth in program history with 3,430 career rushing yards and is tied for third with 42 total touchdowns.
With the playoff run over, Cooper now has to decide whether to return for the 2012 season or make himself available for the NFL draft. He has one semester of eligibility remaining — he'll sit out spring ball to preserve it — but NFL scouts also made regular visits to see him and defensive end Akeem Ward.
"I have to do what's best for me and my family," said Cooper, who has a 4-year-old son.
"I'm definitely coming back to school in the spring, so I'm not going to drop out or anything. I'll work out here, and I'll pray about it and see what happens."
One of Cooper's traditions after home games is to run up and down the field at Bowman Gray Stadium with his son. Despite the pounding he takes during games, he said he loves sharing that time with his son.
"My teammates want me to come back," Cooper said. "We are a family here, also."
Coach Connell Maynor said earlier in the season that if Cooper projects as a third-round pick or better, he should go to the NFL and that if he projects in the fourth round or lower, he should return.
If Cooper does return, it would be a bonus for an offense that seems capable of picking up where it left off in this record-setting season.
"I've said I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but now I'm coming up to that bridge," Cooper said. "I just have to decide what's best for me and my family."
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