LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Amari Cooper was the SEC’s most dangerous weapon from wire to wire in 2014, amassing at least 83 yards in 11 of 13 games, at least 130 yards in seven games and at least 200 yards in three games. It’s easy to see why he was a Heisman finalist in 2014.
Week in and week out opposing defenses couldn’t find an answer for the SEC’s leading receiver. So when Cooper was asked who he thought the best defensive back in the SEC was this season, there was no telling who he might suggest.
His answer: Vernon Hargreaves III.
“Vernon Hargreaves is quick, fast, instinctive … It’s almost like he has played receiver before,” Cooper said of the All-SEC first-teamer from the University of Florida.
Hargreaves did indeed play some wide receiver in high school — catching 18 passes and amassing 686 yards from scrimmage from 2011-12 at Wharton High School in Tampa — so Cooper’s suggestion could have some substance to it.
But when the two faced off in September, it was Cooper who made highlights against Hargreaves and the Gators defense.
Cooper had 10 catches for 201 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-21 win, marking the first of three 200 yard games and the first of two three-touchdown games he posted the season.
He did most of his work lined up away from Hargreaves, but even a Florida defense ranked fourth in the SEC against the pass couldn’t contain the Heisman finalist.
Nevertheless, many agree with the Alabama wideout’s assessment of Hargreaves. He was a first-team all-conference selection by the SEC’s coaches and the Associated Press, and he was named a second-team All-American by the AP.
He led the SEC in passes broken up with 13 and was third in passes defended with 15. And aside from Cooper’s monster day, Florida only allowed one other receiver to post a 100-yard game on its defense this season. (Kentucky freshman Garrett Johnson totaled 154 yards in a Week 3 loss.)
Florida did have a great pass defense and Hargreaves often eliminated an entire side of the field with his tremendous cover skills, perhaps stemming from his experience as a skill player on offense. There’s plenty of evidence to back up the claim that Hargreaves is the best corner the SEC has to offer.
Cooper made Hargreaves and the Gators look silly three months ago, but that’s not a sign that Hargreaves is vulnerable. That’s just how good Amari Cooper was in 2014.
Hargreaves ought to be honored to receive such praise from a future first round NFL draft pick. And he ought to be grateful he won’t be facing Cooper again next season.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
