DIFFERENT ERAS
In Alabama's record books, Cooper has no competition. It's not that Alabama's receiver lineage is devoid of elite players, but UA's other best receivers played in eras when statistics like Cooper's were impossible to attain.
The only UA receiver to see similar chances as Cooper is Julio Jones and his freakish size-speed combination. Opponents couldn't cover Ozzie Newsome at Alabama from 1974-1977, but he dealt with kryptonite for a pass catcher: the Wishbone offense. In Newsome's four years at Alabama, 44 games in all, UA combined for 211 completions and 4,378 passing yards. To compare, Alabama has already passed for 3,391 yards in 12 games this year.
Without nearly the opportunity afforded to Cooper and Jones, Newsome was as dominant as the scheme allowed. He caught 102 of those 211 passes in his UA career, making him even more of a go-to guy than Cooper. Newsome accounted for a gaudy 48.3 percent of Alabama's receptions and 47.3 percent of UA's receiving yardage from 1974-77.
Since arriving on campus in 2012, Cooper has caught 29.2 percent of Alabama's completions for 34.2 percent of its receiving yardage. Staying close to Newsome's slice of the Alabama offense in this era would be unattainable for Cooper with such a dramatic increase in passing. Impressively enough, if you isolate Cooper's production to just 2014 it's close: Cooper has amassed 42 percent of the team's catches (103 of 245) and 46.4 percent of the receiving yardage.
Newsome went on to have a decorated NFL career with the Cleveland Browns, and now serves as general manager of the Baltimore Ravens.
"When I was (coaching) with the Cowboys and we were playing against Ozzie, we knew they were going to throw the ball to him," former Alabama head coach Gene Stallings said. "We'd have three people on him and he caught it anyway. What a great competitor he was. They just don't throw the ball as many times as they do now."
Newsome declined comment when contacted by the Tuscaloosa News, citing NFL rules prohibiting NFL staff to discuss college underclassmen.
It's hard enough to compare Cooper and Newsome four decades apart. Trying to compare Cooper and UA's first elite receiver, Don Hutson, is impossible.
Hutson, an NFL Hall-of-Fame member considered one of the pioneers of the position, was an All-American at UA in 1933 and '34. But back then, no individual stats were recorded in box scores. According to various reports from the 1935 Rose Bowl, Hutson a towering receiver in his era at 6-foot-1, totaled at least 155 yards two touchdowns in the second quarter alone on the way to a 22-7 Alabama victory over Stanford. He caught seven passes in all and didn't play in the second half.
Hutson was discovered when Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau spied on Alabama's closed practice prior to the Rose Bowl. Hutson went on to set 18 NFL records, including a few that still stand today like most seasons leading the league in receptions (8), most seasons leading league in receiving yards (7) and most seasons leading the league in touchdown catches (9).
Hutson finished his NFL career with 488 receptions for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He was named All-Pro nine times and was the league's MVP twice.
Hutson did all of that at a time when pass interference rules were beneficial to the defense - contact was allowed all the way down the field - and teams rarely passed the ball. His 99 touchdown receptions stood as an NFL record for 44 years until Steve Largent broke it in 1989.
"I would just concede him two touchdowns a game," legendary Chicago Bears coach George Halas said in Hutson's New York Times obituary, "and I hope we can score more."
HEISMAN FINALIST?
Cooper has done what few receivers have in the past three decades: get in the Heisman Trophy discussion.
The last receiver to win the award was Desmond Howard in 1991, but Howard's resume was bolstered by punt and kick return duties. Cooper does not play on special teams.
Since Howard's win, the award has been dominated by quarterbacks and running backs. Only three receivers have earned the trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist: Alabama's David Palmer in 1993, Randy Moss in 1997 and Larry Fitzgerald in 2003.
Palmer's stake as Alabama's best receiver doesn't come in stats, but overall team value and incredible highlights. He didn't have the same kind of statistics as Cooper, Newsome or Hutson, but he did it all. He not only reeled in 64 of Alabama's 169 completions in 1993 (37.8 percent) in 1993, he rushed for 278 yards, tallied almost 700 return yards and added a dangerous dimension as a quarterback.
One of the most elusive runners the college game has ever seen, Palmer's short stature and elite athleticism made him dangerous as a runner from under center. He threw, too, completing 15 of 30 passes for 260 yards as a senior. Palmer was the first Alabama player to ever total 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
"Every time I go out there on the field, I think it's a possibility. Every time I touch the ball I think I can score," Palmer said in 1992. Heisman impressions are often made in big games late in the season - just before Heisman voting ramps up - and Cooper's monster Iron Bowl game has made him a legitimate prospect to become a Heisman finalist.
Few expect him to win. Cooper is a 65-to-1 longshot to get the Heisman, with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota the far-and-away favorite.
Still, getting to New York, where no receiver has been invited in 12 years, and doing it without any special teams works would say a lot about Cooper's body of work.
"I don't know, hopefully," Cooper said when asked about his chances for a Heisman invite. "That would be a great thing."
He has one last chance to make an impression, against Missouri in the SEC Championship game with an large national television audience watching. Heisman ballots are due next Monday.
THE BEST EVER?
Offenses change. Rules change. Positional roles change.
Is Amari Cooper the best Alabama receiver of all time?
Is the best the guy with the most yards? The guy who was the biggest chunk of the offense? Can we assume the best NFL pro, a player in college in the 1930s, would have been the best college player?
Hard to say.
What's definite is Cooper makes a really strong case. Barring injury, he's a shoo-in top 15 pick in April's draft. He has the best combination of the bunch when it comes to talent, numbers and overall impact on a team. In all likelihood he'll finish in the top five for the Heisman Trophy.
It is those credentials that make some already consider Cooper is the best Crimson Tide receiver of all time.
"He's the best that's been at Alabama as far as I know," Stallings said. "I think he's as good as anyone who has played at Alabama." Nick Saban wouldn't go as far when asked whether Cooper was UA's best receiver ever earlier this week.
"I just think Amari is not worthy of comparing him to anybody else. He is Amari Cooper. He has his own style," Saban said. "He's a competitive guy who works very hard. He has really good speed, can get in and out of breaks. He works hard in the game to get open. He does a good job of executing. He's made a lot of big plays for us this year."
With a few more big plays down the stretch, and a second national championship, perhaps Cooper can cement his case.
"I think numbers are one way to measure it, but I think at the end of the day, to me, just based upon that and the impact that he's had this year, I think you can definitely make a case that he's the best receiver that has ever played at the school," Savage said. "As far as a Mount Rushmore of receivers at Alabama, I mean, I think it might be Amari, then some of the others."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1712108#sthash.AoQpZnD0.dpuf
In Alabama's record books, Cooper has no competition. It's not that Alabama's receiver lineage is devoid of elite players, but UA's other best receivers played in eras when statistics like Cooper's were impossible to attain.
The only UA receiver to see similar chances as Cooper is Julio Jones and his freakish size-speed combination. Opponents couldn't cover Ozzie Newsome at Alabama from 1974-1977, but he dealt with kryptonite for a pass catcher: the Wishbone offense. In Newsome's four years at Alabama, 44 games in all, UA combined for 211 completions and 4,378 passing yards. To compare, Alabama has already passed for 3,391 yards in 12 games this year.
Without nearly the opportunity afforded to Cooper and Jones, Newsome was as dominant as the scheme allowed. He caught 102 of those 211 passes in his UA career, making him even more of a go-to guy than Cooper. Newsome accounted for a gaudy 48.3 percent of Alabama's receptions and 47.3 percent of UA's receiving yardage from 1974-77.
Since arriving on campus in 2012, Cooper has caught 29.2 percent of Alabama's completions for 34.2 percent of its receiving yardage. Staying close to Newsome's slice of the Alabama offense in this era would be unattainable for Cooper with such a dramatic increase in passing. Impressively enough, if you isolate Cooper's production to just 2014 it's close: Cooper has amassed 42 percent of the team's catches (103 of 245) and 46.4 percent of the receiving yardage.
Newsome went on to have a decorated NFL career with the Cleveland Browns, and now serves as general manager of the Baltimore Ravens.
"When I was (coaching) with the Cowboys and we were playing against Ozzie, we knew they were going to throw the ball to him," former Alabama head coach Gene Stallings said. "We'd have three people on him and he caught it anyway. What a great competitor he was. They just don't throw the ball as many times as they do now."
Newsome declined comment when contacted by the Tuscaloosa News, citing NFL rules prohibiting NFL staff to discuss college underclassmen.
It's hard enough to compare Cooper and Newsome four decades apart. Trying to compare Cooper and UA's first elite receiver, Don Hutson, is impossible.
Hutson, an NFL Hall-of-Fame member considered one of the pioneers of the position, was an All-American at UA in 1933 and '34. But back then, no individual stats were recorded in box scores. According to various reports from the 1935 Rose Bowl, Hutson a towering receiver in his era at 6-foot-1, totaled at least 155 yards two touchdowns in the second quarter alone on the way to a 22-7 Alabama victory over Stanford. He caught seven passes in all and didn't play in the second half.
Hutson was discovered when Green Bay Packers head coach Curly Lambeau spied on Alabama's closed practice prior to the Rose Bowl. Hutson went on to set 18 NFL records, including a few that still stand today like most seasons leading the league in receptions (8), most seasons leading league in receiving yards (7) and most seasons leading the league in touchdown catches (9).
Hutson finished his NFL career with 488 receptions for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He was named All-Pro nine times and was the league's MVP twice.
Hutson did all of that at a time when pass interference rules were beneficial to the defense - contact was allowed all the way down the field - and teams rarely passed the ball. His 99 touchdown receptions stood as an NFL record for 44 years until Steve Largent broke it in 1989.
"I would just concede him two touchdowns a game," legendary Chicago Bears coach George Halas said in Hutson's New York Times obituary, "and I hope we can score more."
HEISMAN FINALIST?
Cooper has done what few receivers have in the past three decades: get in the Heisman Trophy discussion.
The last receiver to win the award was Desmond Howard in 1991, but Howard's resume was bolstered by punt and kick return duties. Cooper does not play on special teams.
Since Howard's win, the award has been dominated by quarterbacks and running backs. Only three receivers have earned the trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist: Alabama's David Palmer in 1993, Randy Moss in 1997 and Larry Fitzgerald in 2003.
Palmer's stake as Alabama's best receiver doesn't come in stats, but overall team value and incredible highlights. He didn't have the same kind of statistics as Cooper, Newsome or Hutson, but he did it all. He not only reeled in 64 of Alabama's 169 completions in 1993 (37.8 percent) in 1993, he rushed for 278 yards, tallied almost 700 return yards and added a dangerous dimension as a quarterback.
One of the most elusive runners the college game has ever seen, Palmer's short stature and elite athleticism made him dangerous as a runner from under center. He threw, too, completing 15 of 30 passes for 260 yards as a senior. Palmer was the first Alabama player to ever total 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
"Every time I go out there on the field, I think it's a possibility. Every time I touch the ball I think I can score," Palmer said in 1992. Heisman impressions are often made in big games late in the season - just before Heisman voting ramps up - and Cooper's monster Iron Bowl game has made him a legitimate prospect to become a Heisman finalist.
Few expect him to win. Cooper is a 65-to-1 longshot to get the Heisman, with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota the far-and-away favorite.
Still, getting to New York, where no receiver has been invited in 12 years, and doing it without any special teams works would say a lot about Cooper's body of work.
"I don't know, hopefully," Cooper said when asked about his chances for a Heisman invite. "That would be a great thing."
He has one last chance to make an impression, against Missouri in the SEC Championship game with an large national television audience watching. Heisman ballots are due next Monday.
THE BEST EVER?
Offenses change. Rules change. Positional roles change.
Is Amari Cooper the best Alabama receiver of all time?
Is the best the guy with the most yards? The guy who was the biggest chunk of the offense? Can we assume the best NFL pro, a player in college in the 1930s, would have been the best college player?
Hard to say.
What's definite is Cooper makes a really strong case. Barring injury, he's a shoo-in top 15 pick in April's draft. He has the best combination of the bunch when it comes to talent, numbers and overall impact on a team. In all likelihood he'll finish in the top five for the Heisman Trophy.
It is those credentials that make some already consider Cooper is the best Crimson Tide receiver of all time.
"He's the best that's been at Alabama as far as I know," Stallings said. "I think he's as good as anyone who has played at Alabama." Nick Saban wouldn't go as far when asked whether Cooper was UA's best receiver ever earlier this week.
"I just think Amari is not worthy of comparing him to anybody else. He is Amari Cooper. He has his own style," Saban said. "He's a competitive guy who works very hard. He has really good speed, can get in and out of breaks. He works hard in the game to get open. He does a good job of executing. He's made a lot of big plays for us this year."
With a few more big plays down the stretch, and a second national championship, perhaps Cooper can cement his case.
"I think numbers are one way to measure it, but I think at the end of the day, to me, just based upon that and the impact that he's had this year, I think you can definitely make a case that he's the best receiver that has ever played at the school," Savage said. "As far as a Mount Rushmore of receivers at Alabama, I mean, I think it might be Amari, then some of the others."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1712108#sthash.AoQpZnD0.dpuf
