David Palmer, Ozzie Newsome, Julio Jones and Don Hutson.

When it comes to University of Alabama wide receivers they’re considered the big four. One can only speculate about what kind of numbers Tyrone Prothro would have posted without the career-ending injury against Florida, while Al Bell, Kevin Norwood, DJ Hall and Freddie Milons all had terrific careers, but these four were on their own level.

Palmer, who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting in 1993, had 102 catches for 1,611 yards and 11 touchdowns, in addition to 86 carries for 598 yards and a touchdown as a running back, 119 returns for 1,706 yards and four touchdowns on special teams, and also threw passes as a quarterback.

Newsome, who went on to arguably be the best tight end in National Football League history, had 102 catches for 2,070 yards and 16 touchdowns. Julio Jones had 179 receptions for 2,653 yards before becoming the sixth-overall selection in the 2011 draft, and if you don’t know about Hutson he’s worthy of looking up.

Considered by many to be the game’s first modern receiver, Hutson was so prolific that he redefined the position. After Alabama he played 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers (1935-45), during which he was named All-Pro nine times, led the league is receptions eight times and scoring five times, and was twice named its most valuable player.

Huston finished his career with 488 receptions, with the next best player during that stretch having 188. He was Jerry Rice before anyone had a clue what a Jerry Rice-type player could do.

Now there’s Amari Cooper, who has already smashed the program record for career touchdown catches and is closing in fast on Hall’s four-year totals of 194 receptions for 2,923 yards.

When he gets them Cooper will be widely hailed as the greatest receiver in Alabama history.

At that point there really won’t be much argument, especially considering the way he stands alone among his peers. Granted, it’s not on the same level as Hutson, but heading into the final month of the season he’s considered by most to essentially be a slam dunk for the Biletnikoff Award for nation’s best wide receiver (barring an injury).

Alabama has never a player win the award, which dates back to just 1994, but Nick Saban has: LSU’s Josh Reed in 2001, whose signature game came against the Crimson Tide.

But with his 224 yards at Tennessee last week Cooper topped Reed by 1 yard to become the Saban’s all-time leading receiver.

Most yards by Nick Saban-coached wide receivers
Game
Yards, Name, School, Opponent, Year
Josh Reed, LSU vs. Alabama, 2001, 293
Plaxico Burress, Michigan State vs. Michigan, 1999, 255
Josh Reed, LSU vs. Illinois, 2002, 239
Amari Cooper, Alabama at Tennessee, 2014, 224
Julio Jones, Alabama vs. Tennessee, 2010, 221
Amari Cooper, Florida at Alabama, 2014, 201
Julio Jones, Alabama vs. Auburn, 2010, 199
Amari Cooper, Florida Atlantic, Alabama, 2014, 189
Josh Reed, LSU vs. Auburn, 2001, 186
DJ Hall, Alabama vs. Tennessee, 2007, 185

Season
Name, School, Year, Catches, Yards
Josh Reed, LSU, 2001, 94, 1,740
Plaxico Burress, Michigan State, 1999, 66, 1,142
Julio Jones, Alabama, 2010, 78, 1,133
*Amari Cooper, Alabama, 2014, 71, 1,132
Josh Reed, LSU, 2000, 65, 1,127
Michael Clayton, LSU, 2003, 78, 1,079
Plaxico Burress, Michigan State, 1998, 65, 1,013
D.J. Hall, Alabama, 2007, 67, 1,005
Amari Cooper, Alabama, 2012, 59, 1000
Julio Jones, Alabama, 2008, 58, 924

Career
Name, School, Year, Catches, Yards
*Amari Cooper, Alabama, 2012-14, 2,868
Josh Reed, LSU, 2001-02, 159, 2,867
Julio Jones, Alabama, 2008-10, 179, 2,653
Michael Clayton, LSU, 2001-03, 181, 2,582
Plaxico Burress, Michigan State, 1998-99, 131, 2,155
Gari Scott, Michigan State, 1997-99, 129, 2,006
Marquis Maze, Alabama, 2008-11, 136, 1,844
Derrick Mason, Michigan State, 1995-96, 106, 1,652
Devery Henderson, LSU, 2002, 76, 1,308
Darius Hanks, Alabama, 2007-11, 84, 1,150
*Active player

In terms of single-season records, Cooper is one yard and seven receptions shy of the Crimson Tide records set by Jones (78 for 1,133 yards), and with between five and seven games remaining he’s 23rd on the Southeastern Conference list. If Cooper maintains his 141.5 yards average he’ll finish the regular season with 1,698 yards, trailing only Reed’s 1,740.

Moreover, he’s just set the Alabama mark for most 100-yard performances:

Most career 100-yard games
Amari Cooper, 2012-14, 14
DJ Hall, 2004-07, 13
Julio Jones, 2008-10, 8
Ozzie Newsome, 1974-76, 6
David Bailey, 1969-71, 5
Dennis Homan, 1965-67, 5
Freddie Milons, 1998-2001, 4
Wayne Wheeler, 1971-73, 4
David Palmer, 1991-93, 4

No wonder Volunteers coach Butch Jones using the “H” word – Heisman – not once, but twice during his postgame press conference. Tennessee’s primary aim defensively was to try and take Cooper out of the game by spying a safety over the top of the coverage in hopes of discouraging throws by Blake Sims.

Instead, 78.3 percent of Sims’ 286 passing yards were to the guy wearing No. 9, as Cooper set the Alabama single-game record for receiving yards.

“They do a great job schematically in terms of moving him around so you can’t match up personnel,” the UT coach said. “They do different things with him, but he runs after the catch, makes every catch. He’s an elite player––very deserving to be spoken about in the Heisman Trophy race. I have a lot of respect for him as a competitor.”

Because the voters are reluctant to cast ballots for wide receivers, for Cooper to even have a chance at the Heisman he’ll need to continue leading the offense during the brutal stretch of at LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn.

But regardless of whatever hardware he lands, Cooper’s spot in Alabama history is already secured. When the next great Crimson Tide receiver comes along, and with Saban at the helm it may not be long, he’ll be the one to compare with.