San Diego State running back Marquez Cooper grew up in Gaithersburg, Md., where he remembers playing football in the street with his cousins.

It could get rough, and not just from the prospect of getting tackled on the asphalt.

“I remember playing wide receiver,” Cooper said. “One of my cousins (playing quarterback) led me into a car with the throw.”

Cooper prides himself in running around and through opponents, though, he admits, “I can’t run through a car.”

“I hit the car, but I was ready to go the next play,” Cooper said. “It was all good. I definitely left a dent in the car.”

Cooper is leaving his mark on college football as well. He comes into Saturday night’s Mountain West game at UNLV needing only 35 rushing yards for his fourth straight 1,000-yard season.

It is an accomplishment realized by only 10 other running backs in college football history. Cooper would be the first to do it while playing at three different schools. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards during the 2021-22 seasons at Kent State and did it again last year at Ball State before transferring to SDSU.

“I’m definitely joining some elite company,” Cooper said after Wednesday mornings practice. The guys who did it, did it right every single day. I want to be remembered as one of those of guys. It’s an honor.”

Washington State linebacker Keith Brown (21) tackles San Diego State running back Marquez Cooper (15) during their game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Cooper (220 carries, 965 yards, 9 TDs) can become the 19th players in Aztecs history to reach 1,000 yards.

He also is on the verge of another significant milestone — 5,000 career yards.

Cooper comes into the game against the Rebels needing 174 yards to become the 23rd player in NCAA history to reach that plateau. Former SDSU great DJ Pumphrey tops the all-time rushing list with 6,405 yards.

SDSU coach Sean Lewis coached Cooper for three years at Kent State. Lewis has said that what sets the 5-foot-7, 200-pound running back apart is “his ability to make someone miss.”

“In all the years that we were together, there’s a handful of moments, if that, where I can remember where one defender brings him down, Lewis said. “He always finds a way to get a little bit more of some of those tough, dirty yards than what is actually blocked or produced based off the call. He does a great job of capitalizing and creating some hidden yardage all on his own.”

On his social media page, Cooper describes himself as a “human joystick” and “professional chain-mover” who is “defying all odds.”

“I’ve always had to compete and always had to prove myself, being a smaller guy,” Cooper said. “I always wanted to be looked at as one of the top guys … I wanted to be looked at as an every-down back, even though I’m small in stature.”

San Diego State running back Marquez Cooper (15) leaps over California defensive back Lu-Magia Hearns III (21) during the first half an NCAA college football game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

He has been a workhorse back for the Aztecs this season, averaging 24 carries a game. Cooper had a season-high 35 carries (for 123 yards) last week against New Mexico. That it came in a 21-16 loss, the Aztecs’ third straight defeat, had him frustrated and pointing a finger at himself for not doing more to win.

“There were plays that I had to seize in the game and I should have seized those moments,” Cooper said. “I wish I could get them back.”

Lewis noted how Cooper is accustomed to a heavy workload, saying, “He craves that. He welcomes that.”

“Him being upset or frustrated with his performance speaks to one individual within the organization that has an incredibly high standard for himself and the team,” Lewis said. “He looks at it like, ‘Hey, I can do more. I can be better, so I can help the team win.’ ”

San Diego State Aztecs offensive lineman Brayden Bryant (55) and running back Marquez Cooper (15) celebrate after a touchdown against the Washington State Cougars during their game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

SDSU running backs coach Darian Hagan appreciates Coopers understanding of the game, his knowledge of opposing defenses and offensive blocking schemes, as well as his old-school toughness.

“He gets it,” Hagan said. “A lot of guys get the ball and they just run 100 mph. He’s setting up blocks. He’s patient when he needs to be patient, and hes decisive when he needs to be decisive.

“And the most important thing is he doesnt put the ball on the ground.”

Hagan expects Cooper to look back on four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons with great pride.

“I think it will mean a lot to him because Im pretty sure that all his life people told he couldn’t do things because of his stature,” Hagan said.

When NFL scouts come to campus, Hagan said he hears the same thing about Cooper over and over: “He’s short, huh?”

“That doesn’t take away his toughness,” Hagan responds. “That doesn’t take away his ability to make people miss and run over people. His physicality.

“He’s exactly what god wanted him to be.”

Rushing around

Marquez Coopers career rushing stats

2020 (Kent State): 56 carries, 282 yards (5.0 ypc), 5 TD

2021 (Kent State): 241 carries, 1,205 yards (5.0), 11 TD

2022 (Kent State): 285 carries, 1,331 yards (4.7), 13 TD

2023 (Ball State): 227 carries, 1,043 yards (4.6), 4 TD

2024 (San Diego State): 220 carries, 965 yards (4.4), 9 TD

Total: 1,029 carries, 4,826 yards, 42 TDs

Select company

SDSU running back Marquez Cooper is poised to become the 11th player in NCAA history with four 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The list:

Tony Dorsett, Pitt (1973-76)

Amos Lawrence, North Carolina (1977-80)

Denvis Manns, New Mexico State (1995-1998)

Ron Dayne, Wisconsin (1996-99)

Cedric Benson, Texas (2002-05)

DonTrell Moore, New Mexico (2002-05)

Tyrell Fenroy, Louisiana (2005-08)

Damion Fletcher, Southern Mississippi (2006-09)

Justin Jackson, Northwestern (2014-17)

Myles Gaskin, Washington (2015-18)

SDSU’s 1,000-yard rushers

2,248: Rashaad Penny (2017)

2,133: DJ Pumphrey (2016)

1,867: DJ Pumphrey (2014)

1,842: George Jones (1995)

1,711: Ronnie Hillman (2011)

1,653: DJ Pumphrey (2015)

1,630: Marshall Faulk (1992)

1,586: Marshall Faulk (1991)

1,549: Larry Ned (2001)

1,532: Ronnie Hillman (2010)

1,530: Marshall Faulk (1993)

1,458: Adam Muema (2012)

1,252: David Turner (1977)

1,244: Adam Muema (2013)

1,186: Jim Allison (1964)

1,150: Chris Hardy (1985)

1,136: Wayne Pittman (1994)

1,094: Tony Allen (1979)

1,091: Greg Bell (2021)

1,087: Lynell Hamilton (2003)

1,055: Paul Hewitt (1988)

1,021: Jonas Lewis (1997)

1,018: Rashaad Penny (2016)

1,016: Norm Nygaard (1952)

1,008: Chase Price (2015)

1,001: Paul Hewitt (1987)

999: Juwan Washington (2018)*

*reached 1,002 yards, but lost 3 yards on last carry in Frisco Bowl vs. Ohio.