As we approach the end of the 2014 calendar year, we’re looking back at the top 50 stories in college football for the year. Today, we continue on with the top 10 with our No. 7 story of 2014.

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It started with 12 catches. Then another 13, followed by eight and another 10. With 43 catches, 655 yards, five touchdowns, Amari Cooper nearly equaled the totals he posted over his full sophomore season through just four games in 2014.

It just kept rolling, all the way to New York, where Cooper was honored as a Heisman finalist earlier this month. Alabama’s junior receiver established early on that the Crimson Tide’s 2014 campaign would be defined, in large part, by his brilliance and he handled a heavy workload all year to smash every receiving record in the books at the storied program.

By year’s end, Cooper had set a bevy of records. His 115 catches are a single-season record both at Alabama and in the SEC, his 219 career grabs another school record. He set single-season marks at Alabama for receiving yards (1,656) and touchdowns (14), and he still has at least one game to go.

Things were definitely different with Alabama’s offense this year. Starting with Lane Kiffin and extending to first-year starter Blake Sims, the Tide looked far different on offense than what the college football world was accustomed to seeing. No player was more equipped to take advantage of the shift in philosophy than Cooper.

While Kiffin certainly knew the kind of talent he had in Cooper, it seemed as if Cooper had done his research on Kiffin’s offenses before the offensive coordinator was hired in January 2014.

“I trained so hard in the offseason,” Cooper told SDS. “I’m ready for whatever (Kiffin) throws at me.”

Kiffin’s offense called for throwing to Cooper. A lot. Through the Crimson Tide’s regular season finale, Cooper was targeted on more than 35 percent of Alabama’s pass plays for the season, and he had nearly three times the number of targets as any other Alabama receiver, according to ncaasavant.com.

Cooper held up remarkably well under that heavy workload. He suffered a few nicks here and there, but didn’t suffer any significant injuries. He banged his knee in Alabama’s next-to-last regular season game against Western Carolina, sitting out the majority of the game as a result. He was mighty healthy when he returned to action against Auburn the next week, going off for 13 catches, 224 yards and three scores.

Part of that is the way Cooper plays the game. He’s not the biggest receiver, listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 lbs. He’s not known for his speed, although he told reporters he ran 40-yard dashes in the 4.3-second range last spring. Cooper plays with an elusiveness, reminiscent of a guard slicing through the lane for a layup on the basketball court. He finds the seams in defenses and slides right through, using his impeccable footwork and body control to avoid any bone-jarring hits.

Cooper will take his talents to the NFL next year; Kiffin has already said as much, and most experts have him pegged as a top-10 draft pick. He still has work to do, with a Sugar Bowl date against Ohio State looming, a trip to Dallas for the national championship on the line. Cooper has delivered in Alabama’s biggest moments this season, and the Tide will be counting on his hands in the College Football Playoff.