Once upon a time, Cooper Kupp was an overlooked college recruit coming out of Yakima, a small city in Washington state.

Back then, few would have predicted the budding wide receiver would join Jerry Rice as the only wideouts in NFL history to be named Super Bowl MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.

Kupp developed his love for the game at Davis High School in Yakima, where he also played basketball. As a senior in 2011, he spoke about his outlook for the upcoming high school football season.

His baby face and white blonde hair, seen in video footage from the time, is a far cry from the grizzly-bearded phenom most NFL fans would recognise today.

Despite impressing during his high school days (he recorded 110 catches for 2,100 yards), Kupp finished his career without a single college football scholarship offer.

It was only in the two months leading up to college signing day that Kupp finally got offers from Eastern Washington University and Idaho State, both in the second tier of NCAA Division I football.

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But like his father and grandfather before him, the raw and undersized receiver was a late bloomer.

His grandfather, Jake Kupp, was an NFL All-Pro offensive lineman in the 1970s who spent most of his years with the New Orleans Saints. His dad, Craig, played quarterback in the NFL for two seasons with the Giants, Cardinals, and Cowboys.

With an innate aptitude for football coursing through his veins, the route-running maestro went on to become one of the most prolific receivers in the history of Division I college football.

He is NCAA royalty to this day, and still holds the career triple-crown record in Division I with the most-ever catches (428), touchdown catches (73) and receiving yards (6,464 yards).

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The 30-year-old was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round (69th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft, but it wasn't until 2021 when he became a breakout star.

That season, the blistering pass catcher became the fourth player in NFL history to earn the triple crown as the league leader in receptions (145 - a franchise record), receiving yards (1,947 - a franchise record) and receiving touchdowns (16).

He also became the first NFL player to amass 2,000 receiving yards in a single season, including playoffs, finishing with a mammoth 2,425 yards.

His Herculean efforts that season earned him the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, a unanimous vote to the All-Pro team and also his first Pro Bowl selection.

Crucially, his astonishing production powered the Rams to Super Bowl LVI where they faced the Cincinnati Bengals.

In the showpiece event, the 6ft 2in WR caught eight passes for 92 yards and two scores, including the winning touchdown with 1:25 remaining to secure the 23-20 victory.

Over a decade on from that fresh-faced NFL hopeful, the bearded wonder had become one of the biggest names in the sport. His 33 receptions over four playoff games set a new NFL record for a single postseason and he was deservedly crowned Super Bowl MVP.

However, despite all he has achieved, Kupp still puts football comfortably third behind faith and family.

He met his wife Anna at a track meet while they were high school seniors. After trying a long-distance relationship when Anna competed as a heptathlete at University of Arkansas, the couple were reunited for good when she enrolled at Eastern Washington with her partner.

They tied the knot in June 2015 and have three sons together, Cooper Jameson, Cypress Stellar and Solas Reign.

Kupp, a devout Christian, once said, "My motivation coming in every single day is to run the race in such a way as to honor God and the passions and the talents that He’s given me.

"When I’m rooted in that, I am in a great place. I am able to play freely."

The 2022 season was undoubtedly a challenging one for the Rams star after he suffered a high ankle sprain which required surgery.

His return this season was hampered by a lingering hamstring injury but he returned to action in the Week 5 loss to the Eagles.

Against the Cardinals a week later, Kupp made seven receptions for 148 yards and his first touchdown of the season in a 26-9 victory.

In Week 14's 37-31 overtime loss to the Ravens he had eight receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown.

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The Rams' playoff chances currently hang in the balance as they find themselves 2nd in the NFC West, unable to catch the 49ers but tied with the Seahawks with a 6-7 record.

Kupp is not quite back to his scintillating best yet but the Rams will no doubt take comfort from their primary receiver beginning to look like the Kupp of old.

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