Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper

refer to caption

Cooper in 2015
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
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2016
Receptions: 155
Receiving yards: 2,223
Yards per reception: 14.3
Receiving touchdowns: 11
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 the University of Alabama where he was the Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver and a unanimous All-American in 2014. Widely considered the top wide receiver prospect of the 2015 NFL Draft, he was selected 4th overall by the Raiders.

Early years

Cooper attended Miami Northwestern High School in Miami, Florida. 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,[1] 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's 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 in the Iron Bowl, 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 his junior season, Cooper entered the 2015 NFL Draft.[23][24]

College career statistics

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 Wt Arm length Hand size 40‑yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20‑ss 3‑cone Vert jump Broad
6 ft 1 in 211 lb 31½ in 10 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

2015 season

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.[29] 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.[30]

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.[31] 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.[32] Cooper replaced Brandon Marshall of the New York Jets on the roster and played in his first Pro Bowl as a rookie.[33]

2016 season

Cooper put together a solid second season in the NFL. He had 83 receptions for 1,153 yards and five touchdowns.[34] Cooper was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl on December 20, 2016.[35]

Career statistics

NFL career statistics
Oakland Raiders
Season Receiving Rushing Fumbles
Year GP GS Rec Yards Avg TD Lng Att Yards Avg TD Lng Fumb Lost
2015 16 15 72 1,070 14.9 6 68T 3 -3 -1.0 0 2 1 1
2016 16 14 83 1,153 13.9 5 64T 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
Career 3229 155 2,223 14.3 11 68T 4 -3 -0.5 0 2 3 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ Scout.com (21 September 2016). "Why elite receivers from south Fla. keep ending up at Alabama".
  2. ↑ "Road to Stardom: Amari Cooper".
  3. ↑ "As accolades roll in, Amari Cooper remains quiet, humble and destined for greatness - Yellowhammer News". 12 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rivals.com".
  5. ↑ http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/playerrankings/_/class/2012/view/region/order/true/region/Southeast
  6. ↑ "2012 Top Football Recruits".
  7. ↑ "Amari Cooper, Oakland WR - Scout".
  8. ↑ outsidethesidelines (22 September 2011). "WR Amari Cooper Commits to Alabama".
  9. ↑ "Amari Cooper".
  10. ↑ "Amari Cooper continues his string of exceptional scrimmages at Alabama".
  11. ↑ Hiserman, Mike; Dufresne, Chris (7 January 2013). "Alabama crushes Notre Dame, 42-14, for second straight BCS title" – via LA Times.
  12. ↑ Wide receiver/tight end preview, Alabama: Cooper a rare talent, tight end spot more uncertain for Tide Archived 2015-02-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ "What happened to Auburn's defense on AJ McCarron's 99-yard touchdown pass in Iron Bowl?".
  14. ↑ Sports, Fox. "Amari Cooper owns every major Alabama receiving record".
  15. ↑ "Alabama vs. Tennessee - Game Recap - October 25, 2014 - ESPN".
  16. ↑ "Auburn vs. Alabama - Game Recap - November 29, 2014 - ESPN".
  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. ↑ "Cooper, Yeldon, Collins leaving Bama for 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. ↑ "GAME NOTES: Raiders 27 Browns 20". Raiders.com. September 27, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  30. ↑ "GAME NOTES: Steelers 38 Raiders 35". Raiders.com. November 8, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  31. ↑ Warnemuende, Jeremy (December 20, 2015). "Amari Cooper becomes Raiders' first 1,000-yard WR in 10 years". 247Sports.com. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Amari Cooper named as alternate in 2016 Pro Bowl". Comcast Sports Network. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  33. ↑ Rapp, Timothy (January 21, 2016). "Amari Cooper Replaces Brandon Marshall at 2016 NFL Pro Bowl". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Raiders WR Amari Cooper has been historic in first two seasons". USAToday.com. May 22, 2017.
  35. ↑ "NFL announces 2017 Pro Bowl rosters". NFL.com. December 20, 2016.
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