Riley Cooper
 Cooper playing for the Eagles in 2011 | |||||||||
| No. 14 – Philadelphia Eagles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | September 9, 1987 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Florida | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2010 / round: 5 / pick: 159 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2012 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Riley Thomas Cooper (born September 9, 1987) is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL), as well as being an avid Kenny Chesney fan. He played college football and college baseball for the University of Florida. He was drafted by the Eagles in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and in the offseason, enjoys racism.
Early years
Cooper was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of Larry and Monica Cooper.[1] He grew up in Clearwater, Florida, where he attended Clearwater Central Catholic High School and played high school football and baseball for the Central Catholic Marauders.[1] Cooper was a three-time all-county honoree, received all-state honors as a wide receiver and free safety after his junior and senior seasons, and was his football team's captain as a senior.[1] Rivals.com ranked him as the tenth-best athlete in the 2006 college football signing class.[2] Cooper was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 15th round (457th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.[3] He did not sign with the Phillies because he chose to attend the University of Florida to play football.
College career
Cooper accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2006 to 2009.
2006
During his freshman season in 2006, Cooper served as the "gunner" on special teams and played in 13 of the 14 games for the Gators. He established a then-career-high with three receptions (all touchdowns) in the romp over Western Carolina. Cooper was nominated SEC Freshman of the Week following his performance. He was the first Gator freshman wide receiver to have three touchdown catches in a game since Jabar Gaffney accomplished the feat in 2000. Cooper saw action in Florida's triumphs over Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, mostly on special teams. He made collegiate debut with one reception for 10 yards against Central Florida. Cooper gained 92 yards on four receptions, three of which went for touchdowns, on the season.[4]
2007
As a sophomore, Cooper appeared in 10 games during the year with two starts in home contests against Tennessee and Auburn. He missed games against Georgia and Vanderbilt as a result of a broken finger suffered in the first quarter at Kentucky. He dressed but did not compete in the Capital One Bowl against Michigan, which the Gators lost. Cooper hauled in a career-high and team-best four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 59-yard grab in his 2007 debut against Western Kentucky. Cooper caught eight passes, gaining 182 yards and scoring two total touchdowns in 2007.[4]
2008
Cooper appeared in every game for the Gators in his junior season, starting all but two (against Hawaii and Florida State). He hauled in a key touchdown, along with a season-high 51-yard reception, that put Florida in scoring position during the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. He totaled 28 yards on two receptions in the BCS National Championship Game, including a crucial 17-yard catch on 3rd-and-12. Cooper amassed 261 total yards on 18 receptions, three of which were touchdowns.[4]
2009
Cooper totaled 961 yards on 51 receptions, with nine touchdowns and an average of 18.8 yards per catch.[5]
Baseball
Cooper was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school in the 15th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. Cooper passed on the contract and played college baseball for the Florida Gators as an outfielder. He signed a deal to play baseball for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball but decided to delay his MLB career and returned to play football for Florida in 2009. He was scheduled to get a physical and receive half of his $250,000 signing bonus on January 17 but declined and told the Rangers that his focus was football, thus voiding his baseball contract.
Professional career
Philadelphia Eagles
Cooper was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (159th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was signed to a four-year contract on July 13, 2010.[6]
Cooper caught his first NFL touchdown in a game against the Tennessee Titans on October 24, 2010.
He ended his first season with 7 reception for 116 yards and 1 TD.
He scored his second touchdown of his career vs. New York Giants in week 10 of the 2011 NFL season on a 8-yard completion from Vince Young.
He broke his collarbone on July 28, 2012 and missed time,[7] but did return midseason and made a one-handed catch for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys. He scored again in the second meeting in the season versus the Cowboys, and it was again a one-handed catch.
Personal
Cooper's sister Lindsey, attends the University of Florida and plays for the Florida Gators women's soccer team.[8]
See also
- 2006 Florida Gators football team
- 2008 Florida Gators football team
- Florida Gators
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of Philadelphia Eagles players
References
- ^ a b c GatorZone.com, Football, Roster, Riley Cooper. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ^ Rivals.com, Prospect Rankings, 2006 Athletes. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
- ^ baseball-reference.com, 2006 MLB Draft 2006 MLB Draft 15 Round. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ^ a b c http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/stats?playerId=186575
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=186575
- ^ McPherson, Chris (July 13, 2010). "WR Cooper Agrees To Terms". philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
- ^ Smith, Michael David. "Eagles WR Riley cooper suffers broken collarbone". ProFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
- ^ http://www.gatorzone.com/soccer/bios.php?year=2012&player_id=80
External links
- Riley Cooper on Twitter
- Riley Cooper – Philadelphia Eagles profile
- Riley Cooper – Florida Gators profile