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Pharoh Cooper Remains Star on South Carolina Offense

By David Knight

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Pharoh Cooper is still showing that he’s a complete player and future star, even in the middle of one of the most disappointing seasons for South Carolina in many years. 

In my lifetime of being a Gamecock Football fan, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a season play out quite like this one has so far.  We have had a bit of everything so far this year; three different QBs have started a game, our legendary coach resigned midseason, and we had to play a home game in Louisiana due to the devastating flooding that hit our state so hard.

Despite all this uncertainty and turmoil, there is still one thing that remains constant, Pharoh Cooper.

The junior wide out from Havelock, NC is quietly putting up another solid season even though his team is struggling overall.  His 7 catch 160 yard performance in the 19-10 win over Vandy this past weekend was his third consecutive 100+ yard game.

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Cooper is somehow still on pace for a second straight 1000 yard receiving season, in spite of the erratic quarterback play and Carolina’s lack of a second receiving option to take some pressure off of him.

Even with his recent surge in production, Pharoh has still had an up and down year like most of his teammates.  He had only one grab for six yards in the blowout loss to Georgia in Athens earlier in the year, and has had more dropped passes than would be expected from a player of his caliber.

With so much expected of him, and with him being used in so many ways, it is not surprising that we haven’t seen him breakout on special teams this year, but I have a feeling he will break loose for a big punt return at some point this season.  He is still clearly the Gamecock’s best offensive weapon, with five total touchdowns through seven games.  So far this year he has only completed one pass for -6 yards, and hasn’t been used in the Wildcat formation as much as might have been expected.

Speaking of the Wildcat, with our offense’s woeful Redzone stats, I would love to see more of this formation inside the 20.  With a team that is talent deficient and has had a revolving door at QB and RB this season, we need to make a more concerted effort to get the ball in our best player’s hands when we have a chance to score.

Sep 26, 2015; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks wide receiver Pharoh Cooper (11) runs with the ball at Williams-Brice Stadium. South Carolina won 31-14 over UCF. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Twice this year, Cooper has turned a busted reverse pass attempt into a positive gain thanks to his shiftiness and skills with the ball.  He even took one of those plays to the house against UCF, when he recognized that the pass wasn’t there and he tucked the ball, reversed all the way across the field and made multiple opponents miss on his way to the end zone.

With Brandon Wilds returning this past weekend and getting over 100 yards on the ground, maybe there can be more balance in the offense going forward.

If opponents are forced to focus more on stopping the ground game, then Pharoh can continue his recent surge in production.

Cooper has 40 catches, 587 yards, and 4 touchdowns receiving through 6 games, and has also added 88 yards and another score on the ground.  He is definitely still the main option for the Gamecocks on offense, and his big play ability will be of the utmost importance as Shawn Elliot’s team tries to turn things around and reach a bowl game for the 8th straight year.

Extras:

Since I hadn’t written anything in a while I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the out pouring of support for this state from South Carolina’s fellow SEC members. LSU’s hospitality has been well documented, as our home game with the Tigers was moved to Baton Rouge due to the immense flooding that occurred in Columbia and surrounding areas a few weeks ago.

The class and compassion they showed in not only hosting our team and fans but in raising funds and donations for the people struggling with the aftermath of the floods has been nothing short of amazing.

Slightly less well known is that our last opponent, Vanderbilt, loaded up two of its equipment trucks with donated supplies and bottled water and sent them to Columbia. As fierce as the rivalries are between SEC schools, it is pleasing to see all that put aside to help out those in such a time of need.

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