South Carolina Football: 10 times that star ratings didn’t matter for the Gamecocks
By Kevin Miller
The most rankings-busting recruits in South Carolina Football history:
Wide Receiver Pharoh Cooper
A 3-star athlete from Havelock, North Carolina, Pharoh Cooper (2013-2015) only had 4 Power-5 offers out of high school. Expected to play defensive back in college, South Carolina football was the only out-of-state offer for Cooper. Rivals bumped him up to a 4-star when there were rumblings that Steve Spurrier had plans to play Cooper on offense, and that decision proved to be a good one.
“Fay-Row,” as he was called by the Head Ball Coach, became an important piece of the offense in limited duty as a true freshman, gaining about 300 yards of offense and accounting for 3 touchdowns, including the game-sealing touchdown pass against the Clemson Tigers.
When Cooper became the top target for the 2014 Gamecock offense, he made the most of his opportunities. #11 was a two-time All-SEC performer in both of his seasons as a starter, and he was particularly effective against teams from Tennessee. In 4 games against Vandy and UT in Cooper’s sophomore and junior seasons, he tallied 32 catches, 722 yards of offense, and 6 touchdowns (including a whopping 4-score game against the Vols in 2014).
Despite his low recruiting ranking, Cooper went on to be selected in the 2016 NFL Draft and had an All-Pro season at two positions (kick returner and punt returner) for the Los Angeles Rams.