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It has been a chaotic season for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
From quarterback injuries to a coaching change, the program’s focus has been all over the place in 2015.
There has been one constant for the Gamecocks on the field this season — junior wide receiver Pharoh Cooper.
The Havelock, N.C., native is 4th in the SEC in catches (44), 3rd in receiving yards (609) and tied for 6th in touchdowns (4). More impressive than the stats themselves is the fact that he’s put up those numbers while working with three different starting quarterbacks as part of the league’s 12th-ranked passing offense.
It’s difficult to imagine where the South Carolina offense would be without him, but it’s safe to say it wouldn’t be a happy place.
Cooper has a year of eligibility left, but one has to wonder if he’ll be back for his senior season in Columbia? It’s very likely that he’ll be working with a new head coach and learning a new offense if he stays in school.
Faced with that, he might decide to try his luck in the NFL Draft. Cooper is listed at 5-foot-11 and 207 pounds on the official South Carolina website, and his 40-yard dash time is somewhere around a 4.5.
He doesn’t fit the mold of the prototypical NFL receiver — think Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson or Alshon Jeffery — but it takes more than sheer size and speed to make it as an NFL receiver. In fact, his size, skill set and background compare very favorably to a couple of all-pro receivers.
Cooper played a bit of quarterback in high school and is an accomplished punt returner. New England’s Julian Edelman is the same height while being 20 pounds lighter and was a three-year starter at quarterback at Kent State. Ditto for Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown. He may be a little faster than Cooper, but he also played a little quarterback at Miami Norland High before a standout career as a receiver and returner at Central Michigan.
Like Edelman and Brown, Cooper is a versatile player who can do a bit of everything. He’s got good hands, runs good routes and is explosive with the ball in his hands. He’s shifty enough to play in the slot (Edelman) yet physical enough to get off of a corner on the outside (Brown).
NFL coaches like guys that can line up anywhere. He’s on the radar for ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper, too:
End on this: Most underrated right now — Brandon Doughty (WKU), Pharoh Cooper (SC), Steven Daniels (BC).
— Mel Kiper Jr. (@MelKiperESPN) October 23, 2015
As for Cooper, he was thinking about the NFL all the way back in July at SEC Media Days.
“I think about it all the time as any college player would do in my situation, but I’m still a college player right now,” he said. “I play for the Gamecocks, and I’m going to help my team win this year … I am just focused on this year right now. We’ll see how it goes. It depends on this year right here.”
Some 2016 NFL Draft projections have Cooper listed as a third-round pick, which means that the future of the coaching staff may not be the only burning question for Gamecocks fans this winter.
That’s because Cooper may wind up as the staff’s first big recruiting target.
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
