Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper

refer to caption

Cooper with the Oakland Raiders
No. 89 Oakland Raiders
Position: Wide Receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1994-06-17) June 17, 1994
Place of birth: Miami, Florida
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school: Miami (FL) Northwestern
College: Alabama
NFL draft: 2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
NFL
College
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2015
Receptions: 72
Receiving yards: 1,070
Receiving Average: 14.9
Receiving touchdowns: 6
Player stats at NFL.com

Amari Cooper (born June 17, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama. He was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver and a unanimous All-American in 2014. Considered one of the top wide receiver prospects of the 2015 NFL Draft,[1] he was selected 4th overall by the Raiders.

Early years

Cooper attended Miami Northwestern High School in Miami, Florida, where he played as a wide receiver for coach Billy Rolle. As a junior, he missed much of the season with an injury but still managed to be one of Teddy Bridgewater's primary targets and had 16 catches for 175 yards with four scores. Cooper was dominant on the 7-on-7 circuit at various college campuses before his senior season. He had a show-out performance at Alabama's summer camp, and that quickly led to an offer from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. In his final year, he hauled in 33 receptions for 722 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was a first team FHSAA 8A All-State selection, as well as the No. 4 player on The Orlando Sentinel’s Florida Top 100.[2] He was also invited to play at the 2012 Under Armour All-America Game, where he had a 75-yard touchdown grab and a 93-yard punt return for a score. In addition to being a standout in football, Cooper also starred in basketball and track at Miami Northwestern.[3]

Cooper was a consensus four-star prospect. He was listed as the No. 45 in the Rivals100, and was considered the No. 6 wide receiver and No. 8 player in Florida by Rivals.com.[4] ESPNU listed him as the nation's No. 7 wideout and No. 46 overall prospect in the ESPNU 150 while ranking 25th in the ESPNU Southeast Top 100 and No. 12 in Florida.[5] He was ranked as the No. 6 wide receiver and the No. 10 player in the state of Florida by 247Sports.com, while ranking him 55th in the Top247.[6] Also, Scout.com rated him as the No. 12 pass catcher in the nation and 86th overall prospect.[7] He chose Alabama over Florida State, Miami and Ohio State, among others. Cooper announced his verbal commitment to the University of Alabama on September 22, 2011.[8]

College career

Freshman season

As a freshman, Cooper played in all 14 games, including starts in the final nine games. He led Alabama with 59 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns.[9] The 11 touchdowns broke Alabama's 62-year-old record by Al Lary.[10] His receptions and receiving yards broke Julio Jones' Alabama freshman records. In Alabama's 2013 BCS National Championship Game victory over Notre Dame, Cooper led all Alabama receivers with 105 yards and two touchdowns.[11] Cooper earned consensus Freshman All-American honors and was selected to the SEC All-Freshman team by the league coaches.[12]

Sophomore season

As a sophomore in 2013, Cooper played in 12 games with seven starts, missing two games due to injury. He had 45 receptions for a team-high 736 yards and four touchdowns. He had his best game of the season against Auburn, recording six receptions for 178 yards, including a school record 99-yard touchdown reception.[13]

Junior season

During Cooper's junior season, he set numerous single-season and career records for Alabama.[14] Against Tennessee, he broke Alabama's single game receiving yards record, finishing with 224.[15] He would later match the record against Auburn.[16] For the season, Cooper had 124 receptions for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns, all school records. The 124 receptions were also an SEC record.[17] He became Alabama's all-time leader in receptions (229), receiving yards (3,463) and receiving touchdowns (31).[18][19] Cooper was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing third behind Marcus Mariota and Melvin Gordon.[20] He won the Biletnikoff Award that season and was also named a unanimous All-American.[21][22]

After the season, Cooper entered the 2015 NFL Draft.[23][24]

College career stats

Year GP Receiving
Rec Rec–Yards Avg TD Long 100+ Avg/G
2012 14 59 1,000 16.9 11 54 5 71.4
2013 12 45 736 16.4 4 99 2 61.3
2014 14 124 1,727 13.9 16 80 7 123.4
Total 229 3,463 15.2 31 99 14 86.6

Professional career

NFL Draft

Cooper was considered one of the best wide receivers in the 2015 draft class, together with Kevin White. In most mock drafts he was projected to be a top 10 pick, with some having him as high as the 4th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.[25][26]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht WtArm lengthHand size 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 1 in 211 lb31½ in10 in 4.42 s 1.61 s 2.63 s 3.98 s 6.71 s 33 in 10 ft 0 in
All values from NFL Combine

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders selected Cooper with the 4th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.[27][28] Cooper was initially assigned the jersey number 19, but following the release of fellow receiver James Jones, he switched to his current number, 89. Cooper made his NFL Debut for the Oakland Raiders on September 13, 2015. He hauled in 5 receptions for 47 yards in a 33-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In his second game against the Baltimore Ravens, he connected with Derek Carr for a 68-yard touchdown, the first of his career. Cooper also had 109 yards receiving and helped the Raiders win 37-33. Following up after his week two breakout he provided the Raiders with eight receptions for 134 yards in a 27-20 win against the Cleveland Browns. He is the first Raiders receiver with back to back 100 yards receiving games since Randy Moss in 2005. Through three games he is third in NFL history for receiving yards by a rookie with 290 receiving yards. On November 8, 2015 Cooper passed Tim Brown's record for rookie receptions (43) in a 35-38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On December 20, 2015, Cooper became the first Oakland Raider rookie in franchise history to reach the 1,000-yard mark and the only receiver in the club to reach that same mark since Randy Moss, in 2005. On December 22, 2015, it was announced Cooper was selected as an alternate for the 2016 Pro Bowl, alongside teammates Derek Carr and Latavius Murray.[29] Cooper replaced Brandon Marshall on the roster and played in his first Pro Bowl as a rookie.

Career statistics

Team Season G GS Receiving Rushing Fumbles
Rec Yds Avg TD Long Att Yds Avg TD Long Fum Lost
Oakland Raiders 2015 16 15 721,07015.06 68T 3 -3 -1.0 0 2 1 1
Career Totals 16 15 72 1,070 15.0 6 68T 3 -3 -1.0 0 2 1 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ NFL Draft Scout
  2. ↑ http://alabama.247sports.com/Article/Road-to-Stardom-Amari-Cooper-31437959
  3. ↑ http://yellowhammernews.com/sports/accolades-roll-amari-cooper-remains-quiet-humble-destined-greatness/
  4. ↑ Rivals.com
  5. ↑ http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/playerrankings/_/class/2012/view/region/order/true/region/Southeast
  6. ↑ http://247sports.com/Season/2012-Football/RecruitRankings?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool
  7. ↑ http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=5073853
  8. ↑ http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2011/9/22/2443199/wr-amari-cooper-commits-to-alabama
  9. ↑ ESPN.com stats
  10. ↑ Amari Cooper continues his string of exceptional scrimmages at Alabama
  11. ↑ Alabama crushes Notre Dame, 42-14, for second straight BCS title
  12. ↑ Wide receiver/tight end preview, Alabama: Cooper a rare talent, tight end spot more uncertain for Tide
  13. ↑ What happened to Auburn's defense on AJ McCarron's 99-yard touchdown pass in Iron Bowl?
  14. ↑ Amari Cooper owns every major Alabama receiving record
  15. ↑ Amari Cooper's big night propels No. 4 Alabama past Tennessee
  16. ↑ No. 1 Alabama rides WR Amari Cooper's 3 TDs by No. 15 Auburn
  17. ↑ Alabama WR Amari Cooper breaks single-season SEC receptions record
  18. ↑ Amari Cooper sets Alabama career yards receiving record
  19. ↑ Potter, Charlie (September 20, 2014). "Cooper sets touchdown record vs. Florida". BamaOnLine. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  20. ↑ Alabama receiver Amari Cooper falls short in Heisman Trophy voting in record-breaking season
  21. ↑ Alabama's Amari Cooper wins Biletnikoff Award for nation's top receiver
  22. ↑ Alabama WR Amari Cooper makes unanimous All-American
  23. ↑ Bama's Cooper, Collins to enter draft
  24. ↑ Amari Cooper, T.J. Yeldon reportedly leaving Alabama for NFL draft
  25. ↑ Davis, Charles (April 15, 2015). "Mock Draft 4.0: Williams falls to Redskins". NFL.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  26. ↑ Jeremiah, Daniel (March 18, 2015). "Mock draft 4.0: Bears look to future at QB". NFL.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  27. ↑ McDonald, Jerry (April 30, 2015). "NFL Draft: Raiders take receiver Amari Cooper at No. 4". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  28. ↑ Williamson, Bill (April 30, 2015). "Raiders draft Amari Cooper at No. 4". NFL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Amari Cooper named as alternate in 2016 Pro Bowl". Comcast Sports Network. Retrieved December 22, 2015.

External links

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