D.C. Reeves
TideSports.com Managing Editor
The University of Alabama was down 12 in the second half to its arch-rival last weekend, and like it had awaken from a interception-induced slumber, the offense defaulted to its primary plan of action.
Find Amari Cooper.
With Alabama's College Football Playoff ticket in the balance and its loss probability at its highest, Cooper lined up wide right, shook a defender with a fluid double move and cruised in for a 39-yard touchdown reception. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was so sure the play would work that he raised both arms in a touchdown signal before the ball was thrown.
Robert Sutton
Amari Cooper has 103 catches and needs nine more to match the SEC single-season record.
Next offensive snap, UA down nine points at its own 25-yard line, Cooper lined up in the right slot and ran a vertical. He beat the defender with ease, hauled in a perfect throw from Blake Sims and scored. Alabama had the lead for good.
It was Cooper's banner performance in a season riddled with huge games. His 13 catches tied a school record, one he matched in September against Florida Atlantic. His 224 receiving yards would have been a school record if he hadn't already posted 224 at Tennessee on Oct. 25. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior scored three times against Auburn, capping the most dominant performance by an Alabama receiver in any regular-season game in school history.
He also has at least two games left this year starting with the SEC Championship against Missouri on Saturday.
Cooper's 36-game resume, and most notably his monster 2014 campaign - 103 catches, 1,576 yards, 14 touchdowns - beg the question: Are we witnessing the best receiver to ever play at Alabama?
THE CASE FOR COOP
Using the most tangible comparison, statistics, Cooper is clearly the best to play for the Crimson Tide. He has shredded Alabama's record books in 36 career games. With two or three games left - he's all but a guarantee to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft - Cooper will just be padding the career and single-season records for receptions, receiving yardage and touchdowns in the next month.
His career began with a breakout freshman season in 2012 (59 catches, 1,000 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) and was followed with a bit of a down season in 2013 thanks to a nagging foot injury. This season has been Cooper's most bountiful by far. With 103 catches in tow, he has already blistered the previous school record of 78 in a season (Julio Jones, 2010). Cooper has eclipsed Jones' single-season receiving yardage record by 440 yards and counting.
TideSports.com Recruiting Insider Report - Iron Bowl Edition
"It's been impressive. To do what he does every Saturday is impressive, man. We're like, 'Wow,'" tight end O.J. Howard said. "We knew he could do it, but he's doing more. Without Coop I don't know where we'd be right now."
Cooper, a Miami native, is also well on his way to breaking the SEC record for receptions in a season (112) set by Vanderbilt's Jordan Matthews, who played four full years at Vanderbilt. Cooper is likely to get the 167 yards needed take down Josh Reed's SEC single-season receiving yardage record (1,740) set in 2001.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban saw Cooper's unique potential well before he arrived.
"The thing that was so impressive about Amari Cooper was when he came to our summer camp before his senior year," Saban said. "The guy was I think maybe - and we've had some good receivers that have been in our camps through the years - he may have been the most impressive, to me, in terms of his ability, his ability to change direction and get out of a break, the quickness, the acceleration of speed, good hands, hard worker.
"I walked away from that camp saying that this guy might be the best receiver we've ever had in our camps, and we've had some really good ones."
Phil Savage, a longtime NFL coach, scout and former general manager of the Cleveland Browns likened Cooper's skill set to former Indianapolis Colts star Marvin Harrison.
"I'd say there are a few things that have really made Amari Cooper elite this year and in his career at Alabama," said Savage, now the executive director of the Senior Bowl and a member of Alabama's football radio broadcast crew. "No. 1, he's got supreme athleticism, he's very quick, he can avoid the press coverage at the line of scrimmage then he's got the speed to accelerate down the field. He's got excellent hand-eye coordination."
KIFFIN EFFECT
Cooper's step up in production this season can also be attributed to help from his new offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin. In his last two full seasons (2011-12) as head coach at Southern Cal, Kiffin had receivers total triple-digit catches - Marqise Lee (118) and Robert Woods (111). All told, of the top 20 single-season pass catchers in USC history, eight came in the five seasons when Kiffin called plays.
"There's no question that with Lane's arrival to Tuscaloosa he has a background of really trying to feature his best player, and they've done that with Amari this year," Savage said. "There will be some scouts out there that might say, hey, the numbers are a bit skewed because they've targeted him so much, but I don't think that anybody who has watched Alabama closely would find fault in that. You want to get the ball to your best player. And Saturday night, when those 22 players were on the field (in the Iron Bowl) he was the best one out there."
Kiffin's plan has stayed the course in Tuscaloosa. Drag routes, vertical routes, bubble screens are all in play. Cooper has lined up wide, in the slot and even taken several snaps out of the backfield. Kiffin has drawn up ways to get Cooper the ball all over the field, even as teams do their best to contain him.
"He's going to catch 4-5 passes before the game even starts. Those lateral throws, bubble passes, those are almost like handoffs. He's going to get his share of at-bats and ultimately he's had a chance to hit some home runs this year," Savage said. "I actually think that his versatility will probably be his greatest strength at the next level."
Combining a scheme predicated on featuring one good receiver and, well, one elite receiver, has put Cooper in position for such a huge season.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Kiffin," Cooper said after the Iron Bowl win. "He's a great offensive coordinator, he draws up really good plays to put his playmakers in position to make the plays."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1712108#sthash.AoQpZnD0.dpuf
TideSports.com Managing Editor
The University of Alabama was down 12 in the second half to its arch-rival last weekend, and like it had awaken from a interception-induced slumber, the offense defaulted to its primary plan of action.
Find Amari Cooper.
With Alabama's College Football Playoff ticket in the balance and its loss probability at its highest, Cooper lined up wide right, shook a defender with a fluid double move and cruised in for a 39-yard touchdown reception. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was so sure the play would work that he raised both arms in a touchdown signal before the ball was thrown.
Robert Sutton
Amari Cooper has 103 catches and needs nine more to match the SEC single-season record.
Next offensive snap, UA down nine points at its own 25-yard line, Cooper lined up in the right slot and ran a vertical. He beat the defender with ease, hauled in a perfect throw from Blake Sims and scored. Alabama had the lead for good.
It was Cooper's banner performance in a season riddled with huge games. His 13 catches tied a school record, one he matched in September against Florida Atlantic. His 224 receiving yards would have been a school record if he hadn't already posted 224 at Tennessee on Oct. 25. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior scored three times against Auburn, capping the most dominant performance by an Alabama receiver in any regular-season game in school history.
He also has at least two games left this year starting with the SEC Championship against Missouri on Saturday.
Cooper's 36-game resume, and most notably his monster 2014 campaign - 103 catches, 1,576 yards, 14 touchdowns - beg the question: Are we witnessing the best receiver to ever play at Alabama?
THE CASE FOR COOP
Using the most tangible comparison, statistics, Cooper is clearly the best to play for the Crimson Tide. He has shredded Alabama's record books in 36 career games. With two or three games left - he's all but a guarantee to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft - Cooper will just be padding the career and single-season records for receptions, receiving yardage and touchdowns in the next month.
His career began with a breakout freshman season in 2012 (59 catches, 1,000 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) and was followed with a bit of a down season in 2013 thanks to a nagging foot injury. This season has been Cooper's most bountiful by far. With 103 catches in tow, he has already blistered the previous school record of 78 in a season (Julio Jones, 2010). Cooper has eclipsed Jones' single-season receiving yardage record by 440 yards and counting.
TideSports.com Recruiting Insider Report - Iron Bowl Edition
"It's been impressive. To do what he does every Saturday is impressive, man. We're like, 'Wow,'" tight end O.J. Howard said. "We knew he could do it, but he's doing more. Without Coop I don't know where we'd be right now."
Cooper, a Miami native, is also well on his way to breaking the SEC record for receptions in a season (112) set by Vanderbilt's Jordan Matthews, who played four full years at Vanderbilt. Cooper is likely to get the 167 yards needed take down Josh Reed's SEC single-season receiving yardage record (1,740) set in 2001.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban saw Cooper's unique potential well before he arrived.
"The thing that was so impressive about Amari Cooper was when he came to our summer camp before his senior year," Saban said. "The guy was I think maybe - and we've had some good receivers that have been in our camps through the years - he may have been the most impressive, to me, in terms of his ability, his ability to change direction and get out of a break, the quickness, the acceleration of speed, good hands, hard worker.
"I walked away from that camp saying that this guy might be the best receiver we've ever had in our camps, and we've had some really good ones."
Phil Savage, a longtime NFL coach, scout and former general manager of the Cleveland Browns likened Cooper's skill set to former Indianapolis Colts star Marvin Harrison.
"I'd say there are a few things that have really made Amari Cooper elite this year and in his career at Alabama," said Savage, now the executive director of the Senior Bowl and a member of Alabama's football radio broadcast crew. "No. 1, he's got supreme athleticism, he's very quick, he can avoid the press coverage at the line of scrimmage then he's got the speed to accelerate down the field. He's got excellent hand-eye coordination."
KIFFIN EFFECT
Cooper's step up in production this season can also be attributed to help from his new offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin. In his last two full seasons (2011-12) as head coach at Southern Cal, Kiffin had receivers total triple-digit catches - Marqise Lee (118) and Robert Woods (111). All told, of the top 20 single-season pass catchers in USC history, eight came in the five seasons when Kiffin called plays.
"There's no question that with Lane's arrival to Tuscaloosa he has a background of really trying to feature his best player, and they've done that with Amari this year," Savage said. "There will be some scouts out there that might say, hey, the numbers are a bit skewed because they've targeted him so much, but I don't think that anybody who has watched Alabama closely would find fault in that. You want to get the ball to your best player. And Saturday night, when those 22 players were on the field (in the Iron Bowl) he was the best one out there."
Kiffin's plan has stayed the course in Tuscaloosa. Drag routes, vertical routes, bubble screens are all in play. Cooper has lined up wide, in the slot and even taken several snaps out of the backfield. Kiffin has drawn up ways to get Cooper the ball all over the field, even as teams do their best to contain him.
"He's going to catch 4-5 passes before the game even starts. Those lateral throws, bubble passes, those are almost like handoffs. He's going to get his share of at-bats and ultimately he's had a chance to hit some home runs this year," Savage said. "I actually think that his versatility will probably be his greatest strength at the next level."
Combining a scheme predicated on featuring one good receiver and, well, one elite receiver, has put Cooper in position for such a huge season.
"I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Kiffin," Cooper said after the Iron Bowl win. "He's a great offensive coordinator, he draws up really good plays to put his playmakers in position to make the plays."
- See more at: https://alabama.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1712108#sthash.AoQpZnD0.dpuf
