Alabama Football: H.S. Recruit Amari Cooper Could End Turnaround with the Tide

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) This time last year, not many people knew about Amari Cooper outside Northwestern High School near Miami, Florida. He went through his junior year buried in the depth chart, and with nagging injuries and wasn't on any big school radar.

The 6'1, 180 pound receiver wasn't receiving a lot of good news from the recruiting front and was a little disappointed.

Then he started going to summer camps.

Amari raised lots of eyebrows at the summer camp in Tuscaloosa and Saban quickly gave him an offer–and when Nick Saban offers someone, they suddenly get put on the radar. Suddenly everyone wanted to know who this young man was and what he had to offer.

Then he went to Florida State and Jimbo Fisher saw the same kinds of athleticism that Saban saw and also made getting him a priority.

Today he hold 11 offers including Ohio State, Michigan State, Miami and West Virginia.

But once they start tallying this seasons stats into the rankings, his stock will rise even higher and more offers are sure to come. Right now, he's rated by Rivals as the seventh best receiver in this class and that's a number that will surely rise.

Just a few months ago, Amari wasn't even listed in the top 250 recruits, now he's at 58 overall and with the games he's turning in, that number will only go up.

He's also been invited to participate in the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 5th, 2012, which is a showcase of the best high school talent in the country.

However, Amari says he's close to making a decision and it looks like it will come down to Alabama and Florida State. That announcement could come later this week.

Though Cooper has almost six months to officially decide, at the rate the Tide is getting commitments, there may not be a slot for anyone who waits too long in the process.