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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was supposed to be the top one-on-one matchup of the Southeastern Conference this season, University of Alabama junior wide receiver Amari Cooper vs. Florida sophomore cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, but afterward the vanquished could only admit how impressive of a performance it had been.
What else could Hargreaves do but congratulate Cooper after he made 10 receptions for 201 yards?
“He’s said, ‘Good game, you played great.’” Cooper said after their handshake on the field.
Cooper also had three touchdowns, giving him 20 for his career to break a Crimson Tide record that’s stood since 1967 (Dennis Homan).
The first was on a 79-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter when Cooper lined up in the slot but was left alone due to busted coverage and made an impressive over-the-shoulder catch looking back into the sun.
“That’s a pretty good little catch, but I knew that I was wide open,” Cooper said. “The safety wasn’t looking at me at all.”
The record-breaking touchdown came with senior quarterback Blake Sims in the locker room, where he was getting checked out for a shoulder bruise. With just 21 second remaining in the third quarter his 4-yard catch from junior Jacob Coker capped an 80-yard drive that all but the game out of reach at 35-21.
With Sims back in the game, Cooper caught his 6-yard toss that resembled a shot-put throw to complete the scoring.
“It wasn’t a high-pointable ball,” Cooper said with a laugh about the technique receivers are taught.
Cooper became just the fourth player in school history to catch three touchdowns in a single game, and it was just the Crimson Tide’s third 200-yard receiving performance.
Alabama’s single-game receiving yards
221 Julio Jones at Tennessee (12 catches), Oct. 23, 2010
217 David Palmer at Vanderbilt (8 catches), Sept. 11, 1993
201 Amari Cooper vs. Florida (10 catches), Sept. 20, 2014
199 Julio Jones vs. Auburn (10 catches), Nov. 26, 2010
189 Amari Cooper vs. Florida Atlantic, Sept. 6, 2014
It’s his sixth straight 100-yard receiving game, which set another Alabama record. Cooper had previously been tied with DJ Hall (2006).
“(Cooper) was very impressive,” Sims said. “He put on a good show for everybody today.”
Cooper’s 43 receptions in the first four games are only two shy of his total for the entire 2013 season.
For the season Cooper has 43 receptions for 665 yards, which are both on pace to easily smash the Alabama single-season records, and he’s up to 2,391 career yards – 533 shy of breaking DJ Hall’s record of 2,923.
In comparison, his injury-plagued season last year resulted in 45 receptions for 736 yards.
“We figured that Will (Muschamp) would match him up, but we were going to try to get the ball to Coop,” Coach Nick Saban said. “Coop did a great job in the game.”
Alabama career touchdown receptions
20 Amari Cooper, 2012-14
18 Dennis Homan, 1965-67
17 DJ Hall, 2004-07
16 Ozzie Newsome, 1974-77
15 Joey Jones, 1980-83
15 Julio Jones, 2008-10
14 Al Lary, 1948-50
13 David Bailey, 1969-71
13 Keith Brown, 2004-07
11 Wayne Wheeler, 1971-73
11 Jesse Bendross, 1980-83
11 Al Bell, 1985-86
11 David Palmer, 1991-93
11 Curtis Brown, 1991-95
11 Toderick Malone, 1993-95
Source: Alabama record book
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.
