Alabama Football: What Needs to Happen for Amari Cooper to Win the Heisman?
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Amari Cooper is off to a torrid start in college football, and that’s putting it lightly.
He’s been well over 100 receiving yards in every game he’s played, caught double-digit balls in three of Alabama’s four games and has been the focal point of the Crimson Tide’s game plan week in and week out.
This explosive start to the season has put Cooper squarely in several pundits’ Heisman conversations. Odds Shark gives him 20-to-1 odds after this week.
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| 43 (1st nationally) | 655 (1st) | 5 (T3rd) | 10.8 (1st) | 163.8 (1st) |
Cooper is clearly one of the best players in the country, but he will be fighting against a tendency for voters to favor quarterbacks and running backs for the most prestigious individual award in sports.
So does Cooper have a chance?
Absolutely, he does. But he needs a lot to happen, and keep happening, to him and to the players around him.
Let’s look at what Cooper’s road to a Heisman Trophy would look like.
Continue at or around his current pace
This is easily the most important part for Cooper. If he can’t sustain this level of greatness all year, then the rest becomes a moot point. According to Andrew Gribble of al.com, if Cooper kept playing at this pace, he’d end the regular season with 129 catches, 1,965 yards and 15 touchdowns.
That’s similar stats to the two other wide receivers to win the Heisman Trophy.
| 1987 | Tim Brown | 39 | 846 | 3 | 1 rushing TD, 3 punt return TDs |
| 1991 | Desmond Howard | 62 | 985 | 19 | 2 rushing TDs, 1 kick and punt return TD |
| 2014 | Amari Cooper* | 129 | 1,965 | 15 | *stats are season projection |
The problem with comparing these stats for Cooper, though, is twofold.
For one, the game has changed. An emphasis on offense, specifically passing, has significantly inflated passing and receiving stats from their late-'80s, early-'90s levels when Tim Brown and Desmond Howard played. Last year, for example, there were 44 players who topped 1,000 yards receiving. In 1991, there were nine, and Howard wasn’t even one of them.
That brings us to our second problem. Cooper only catches passes.
He does not return kicks and punts, whereas Brown and Howard were also game-changing performers on special teams. Christion Jones solidified his position as Alabama’s kick returner, and the Crimson Tide don't really have a need to put Cooper back there, especially in terms of the injury risk it would pose.
So for Cooper to stay in the Heisman race until the very end, he’ll need to continue to put up those eye-popping receiving numbers—if not exceed them.
His team stay in the national championship picture
Fair or unfair, the Heisman is seen as an award that usually goes to the best player on the best team in college football instead of only just the best player.
It could, however, be a perception that ends up going in Cooper’s favor.
Alabama will stay in the national conversation largely because it’s Alabama. But the Crimson Tide look like one of the best teams in the country early on and will continue to get the extra attention that comes with that.
He’ll get multiple chances to show his talents on big stages, so Cooper will definitely stay in the spotlight this season, even if he plays at a position with a lesser profile than that of quarterback or running back.
That’s what’s going to hurt players like Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon. They may be great individual players, but it remains to be seen how long their teams can stay in playoff contention.
And that’s why it’s imperative for Alabama to keep winning.
We saw this happen last year with AJ McCarron. He was in the mix for the Heisman as the season went on, and even late in the Iron Bowl he hit several big plays to keep Alabama in the game that had voters all but convinced he was the right choice. We all know what happened next, though, and McCarron ended up a distant second to Florida State’s Jameis Winston.
It’s unfair, but it’s the college football world we live in.
Big performances in the biggest games
Cooper is already off to a great start in this department.
Against Florida—and more specifically, Vernon Hargreaves III, one of the country’s best cornerbacks—Cooper turned in his best game of the season. It also took place in a nationally televised game, which really helped stir up all of the Heisman talk surrounding Coop.
Having your biggest games at the right time is part of the equation, and Cooper has several more opportunities to do that.
Next week, Alabama takes on Ole Miss (kickoff @ 2:30 p.m. CT, CBS). The Rebels boast one of the best safety duos in the country in Cody Prewitt and Tony Conner. A trip to LSU and a rematch with Auburn are sure to draw similar, if not more, attention. And there’s always a potential SEC Championship Game as an encore.
Keeping up the pace is important, but making sure not to fall flat in one of those games is critical.
Lukewarm contenders around him
This is probably the second-most important factor, when considering whether Cooper has a legitimate shot at winning the Heisman. A few of the preseason favorites—especially at quarterback—have seen their Heisman stock take a hit, for one reason or another.
UCLA’s Brett Hundley is off to a fizzling start, checking at No. 50 in passing yards per game and No. 37 in quarterback rating. Florida State’s Jameis Winston is making headlines off the field, causing headaches for his coach and fatigue among Heisman voters reluctant to put him in a second time.
But other quarterbacks have emerged as viable contenders, like Texas A&M’s Kenny Hill and Notre Dame’s Everett Golson. Auburn’s Nick Marshall struggled against Kansas State but should play better in games later in the season as the Heisman voting draws nearer. Those players play for good teams with legitimate playoff hopes—and they could trump Cooper in Trophy conversations given the profile of the position they play.
If Cooper wants a chance at the Heisman, those kinds of players will need to struggle, leaving the door open for voters to choose a different type of player, one who contributes greatly to one of the nation's best teams.
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