Daily Dose of Crimson Tide: Amari Cooper

Throughout the 2014 season, Nick Saban was regularly asked about junior wide receiver Amari Copper and what he brought to the University of Alabama football team.

Actually, the coach got so many questions about him that he ran out of descriptive words to use with reporters. “Outstanding” was the staple for much of the fall and then by November he started using “phenomenal.”

But following the 55-54 victory over Auburn, during which Cooper established numerous program records while helping lead the Crimson Tide’s dramatic comeback, not even those seemed sufficient.

"Cooper, what do you say about him?” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said the week of the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

Regardless, it was pretty obvious that the wide receiver was without peer, which might be the greatest compliment of all.

“Amari is not worthy of anyone comparing him to anybody else,” Saban said. “He is Amari Cooper. He has his own style. He’s a very competitive guy who works really, really hard. Has really good speed getting in and out of breaks. Works hard in the game to get open. Does a good job of executing, has made a lot of really big plays for us this year.

“He’s certainly been a dynamic player for our team and has made a great contribution to our season.”

His final Iron Bowl may have been the perfect example because as he heated up so did the Crimson Tide.

With his first reception, a 5-yard gain to help set up Alabama’s initial touchdown, Cooper established a new program record for career catches.

With three touchdown receptions, which tied the Crimson Tide single-game record, he broke his own single-season record of 11 set two years previous as a freshman. Cooper had previously tied his mark and had notched 14.

With 224 receiving yards he tied his own single-game record, set against Tennessee earlier in the season. His 14th career 100-yard game was another career record after being tied with DJ Hall (13, 2004-07).

Cooper also set numerous Iron Bowl records including for receiving yards in a game, and was the only player to have three 100-yard performances in the rivalry. He had 109 yards in 2012 and 178 for an encore, giving him 511 for his career, topping the all-time record held by Julio Jones (318, 2008-10).

Yet at halftime he had just six receptions for 60 yards and a 17-yard touchdown.

“You know we didn’t throw the ball downfield that much in the first half,” Saban said. “The only time we did was a touchdown and I kept saying to (offensive coordinator) Lane (Kiffin), ‘We made a lot of explosive plays throwing the ball downfield, let’s take some shots on these guys.’

“They’re certainly doing that to us and we’re not having much success. I thought a couple of those big plays really changed the momentum of the game.”

Saban credited Cooper’s 39-yard touchdown reception in particular as being a turning point in the third quarter, and he then topped it with a 75-yard bomb.

Regardless, the Tigers obviously never had an answer, causing Crimson Tide tackle Austin Shepherd to quip: “I’d have the whole defense on him.”

“He’s a great player,” junior center Ryan Kelly said. “I’ve got a buddy who said they tried to play two on him at some point in time. But if they’re going try to put the entire team on him then other guys are going to be open.”

Regardless, Cooper put up most of his biggest numbers against some of the best pass defenses in college football.

At the end of the regular season he had faced seven of the top 50, including two in the top 10 and three in the top 20. In those seven games he caught 69 passes (9.9 per game) for 1,041 yards (148.7 yards) with 10 touchdowns. He had three 200-yard performances while his lowest output was eight catches for 83 yards and a touchdown at LSU, which had the nation’s No. 2 pass-efficiency defense.

Against the six opponents ranked in the Associated Press Poll he caught 58 passes for 756 yards and seven touchdowns. That’s an average of 9.7 catches and 126.0 yards.

“You never know what kind of route he’s going to run by the way he moves,” junior safety Landon Collins said. “That’s just Coop.”

Saban expanded on that: “He really pays attention to detail, tries to do things right, doesn't get frustrated when it doesn't go right and sort of just keeps being a relentless competitor out there. … He's got really good speed and he's got good size and he's got really good hands, and he plays with really good toughness.

“Because he's smart we can move him around a lot of different places and utilize what he can do in different spots which makes it difficult for the defense to track him.”

Saban added that Cooper played through “a lot of injuries,” obviously including having one of the greatest performances in Iron Bowl history while wearing a knee brace to protect the deep bruise from a helmet hit the week before against Western Carolina.

“The brace actually helped me,” said Cooper, who had 13 receptions against Auburn. “It eased some of the pain.”

Naturally, after the SEC Championship Game, the accolades started pouring in for Cooper, including the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and All-American status, which will make him someday eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

He became the first player in Alabama history, and just the second from Southeastern Conference, to win the prestigious Biletnikoff Award as receiver of the year. Cooper was also a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year and invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation.