Pharoh Cooper Named All-SEC by ESPN.com
Pharoh Cooper received another preseason accolade on Monday morning as ESPN named him an All-SEC player. He was recognized as the best all purpose player in the SEC and rightfully so. Cooper has made a name for himself at South Carolina by being able to be moved virtually anywhere on the field and make something happen.
Last season, Cooper was second in the SEC with 1,136 yards receiving. His 9 receptions for a touchdown were good enough to tie him for fourth in the SEC. Cooper rushed the ball 27 times for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns last season. He returned punts last season as well with 15 returns for 75 yards. In all, Cooper averaged 108.5 all-purpose yards per game in 2014-15.
Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports
That’s not all Cooper has done in Columbia. Steve Spurrier recently pointed out that he is the leading passer returning to the team this season. While he only attempted 8 passes out of the Wildcat quarterback position last season, he completed 5 of them for 78 yards and two touchdowns. When you do the math, Pharoh Cooper accounted for 13 touchdowns last season as a sophomore and 25.5% of the Gamecocks offensive touchdowns last season.
Cooper has found his name on several preseason watch lists. On July 6, he was named to the 2015 Paul Hornung Watch List, which is given to the most versatile player in college football. On July 7, he was named to the 2015 Maxwell Award Watch List, which is given to the best football player at the end of the year. July 15, Cooper was named to the 2015 Biletnikoff Award Watch List, given to the best wide receiver. Pharoh was also named first team All-SEC on Phil Steele’s Preseason All-SEC Team.
This season, Cooper will be counted on heavily by Spurrier and the Gamecock offense as the only proven commodity at wide receiver. With the uncertainty at quarterback and on the offensive line, he may be asked to run the Wildcat a little more this season just so the coaches can get the ball in the hands of their best play maker. Whatever it is Cooper is counted on to do, no task is too tall for the Gamecock’
s go to guy.