I still live in Gainesville and I'm glad he decided to come back and is looking to get into the NFL. Some people are going to be surprised at his speed. He was always talked about here for running with and sometimes outrunning some of our fastest players like Louis Murphy.
I just saw this and was checking to see if it was posted. I don't follow college football, but if he's a 2nd round pick, do you think he could be a sleeper #1 receiver? It'll be nice because the staff will get to evaluate him at the senior bowl, and make that determination.
He had some dropsies at UF, but his speed is very deceiving. Not sure if he could ever be a true #1, but I'm interested to see how he does at the next level. He made the right choice though, he couldn't hit for ****.
I'm not sure if he could be a true #1 either, but he probably has more of a chance than anyone we currently have on our roster.
Cooper ran 4.4 in high school and should do around that now. He dropped a few balls but was wide open ALOT! He is a fearless blocker and will block with everything he's got. I would love to get him in the 3rd rd
Cooper with just be another in the long list of flashy Florida WR's. Seems like every other year there is another prospect that will "finally buck the terrible Gator WR" trend in the NFL. I feel like Cooper will just go the way the rest did. Of course Lois Murphy halfway produced last season, but you can hardly call the Raiders a real Pro-football team. I mean hell the Bills laugh at them.
Percy Harvin. But I agree with the gist of your post, I remember a few years ago when Chad Jackson was gonna be the next big thing and he got drafted by NE and did squat.
Totally different. Most of those guys were from Spurrier years and Meyer teaches the WR's alot more. Cooper is nothing like Spurrier WR's except his speed.
Riley Cooper reminds me of two players right now. He reminds me a bit of Brian Hartline. Deceptively fast guy who just seems to get open and make plays. Only bigger and more athletic of course. The other is Derek Hagan, in that he had the dropsies throughout his collegiate career, but is making everyone forget about them because, like Hagan, he's shining during Senior Bowl week, hauling in everything thrown his way. Unfortunately for Hagan, he reverted to what he always was once he hit the pros. And that's what you worry about. Generally if a guy can't catch in college, he can't catch in the pros. Unless he needs contact lenses, like Plaxico Burress I think it was. One big time NFL receiver had the dropsies and it turned out his vision was just horrible.
Considering the "QBs" that the Raiders have, Louis Murphy had a great year. His two blocks on Zack Miller's 83 yard TD catch and run. Posted by: Tim Yotter at 01/25/2010 04:52 PM ET WR Cooper Standing Out About halfway through the first South team practice, Florida WR Riley Cooper looks the most polished at his position. Posted by: Ed Thompson at 01/25/2010 04:28 PM ET WR Cooper, CB Murphy Impressing As the South practice, cornerbacks are lining up on the wide receivers at the line of scrimmage to show their abilty to disrupt their route at the snap. Florida WR Riley Cooper has been impressive and very physical battling past every CB so far. South Florida CB Jerome Murphy was the only one who truly tied him up.
He had a lot of drops but he also had some spectacular one hand grabs that would make any NFL video highlights .Great athlete with some good upside.He can start right off the bat ...pun intended ...as a gunner on the special teams I dont know if he will make it in the pro's but he is fast AND he is not afraid to block which will endear him to some teams.He does not hear footsteps as Hagan and Ginn have been accused of doing. BTW Percy Harvin was a Gator WR and he was awarded the offensive rookie of the year award. Not bad ....for a Gator WR.
Actually if I remember correct, Hagan developed the whole drops issue during the senior bowl time and was very reliable his whole college career.
Hagan's main problem was he did not catch with his hands, he caught with his body. The other part of that was that he waits for the ball instead of going after it. In college you can get away with that because a lot of college defensive backs are not that fast/great. However in the NFL, every DB is really good. In the Senior Bowl he cost Cutler a TD that went for a interception because he just sat waiting for a pass and a DB moved all the way around him and picked the ball off. I thought right then that this guy was not going to make it and then we drafted him.......
