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Examiner Bio Riley Cooper steps out from the shadows in senior year at Florida
February 27, 1:36 PMAtlanta Falcons ExaminerDaniel CoxPrevious
WR Riley Cooper catching a TD pass in '09. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)University of Florida wide receiver Riley Cooper, at first glance, doesn't look like or sound like he belongs at the NFL Combine.
Standing at 6'3", 222 pounds he has the requisite size, but his long locks and laid-back way of speaking imply a Florida-born, beach bum.
But when you listen closely you realize he's not being cavalier with his sometimes short answers, he simply doesn't put a lot of thought into it. And it's a good thing.
Pushing a reported $250,000 contract to play baseball for the Texas Rangers away to focus solely on football, Cooper spoke about his decision Friday at the NFL Combine like it was as simple as deciding what to have for lunch.
"Baseball is out of the question," said Cooper. "I was supposed to show up January 17, get half my signing bonus, and take my physical. But I opted not to show up. My dad called them and said 'Thanks for everything, we appreciate it. But for our family, we're going to do football.'"
After a huge senior season at the Florida, he appears to have made the right decision. For much of his career he was hidden behind current-NFL talents Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin at wideout for the Gators, but 2009 was his year to shine. 30 career receptions in college morphed into 81 career catches for 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Murphy and Harvin shared their draft experience with Cooper, telling him that it's going to be crazy and to just take things day-by-day. It's the kind of feedback the receiver listened to, but didn't really need to hear. He's not the type of guy to create expectations about anything. Case in point: When asked about the adjustments he'll have to make transitioning from college to the NFL, Cooper replied that he didn't know and since he wasn't there yet he couldn't know.
Cooper just wants to play some football. He admitted that he's not much of a fan of the NFL game, for no reason in particular. Since he was playing the college game, he preferred watching and keeping up with that. He wouldn't compare himself to another player in part because he thought it was irrelevant, but also because he probably wasn't very familiar with them.
"I kind of just play my own game," Cooper said. "I don't really watch NFL football too much, just college. I just go out there and play to my strengths."
So what are his strengths? Accentuating the positive for one thing. Another is being a physical blocker.
The 22-year-old Cooper uses his size well to block in the running game. He's a physical player in general and he feels teams like that about him.
"Most everyone I talked to said they really like that about me," he said. "Especially the run blocking and things like that. That's one of my strengths, one of the things I do best. I hope they all like it."
That physical play naturally translates to special teams, a phase of the game he's especially proud of.
"I started on kickoff my freshman and sophomore year," the receiver said. "I loved it. I was the gunner--the guy who made most of the tackles. This year I played kick return. I was the lead blocker for B. James. I feel like I could definitely help a team out. Maybe not returning it, but with some other things."
In a brief moment, he exposed his high level of confidence, but his interview coaching caught up with him and he backtracked.
"I love doing it," he said. "I love going down there. I'm good...I'm decent at special teams."
Much of his post-season training has been focused on the 40-yard dash. For the first time since he can remember, his football offseason isn't consumed by baseball. He's using the extra time to show NFL scouts that he's not just a big, physical receiver. He's also fast.
"I want to run a good time," he said. "I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to run a good time. I know I'm fast, but I've got to go out there and prove it."
Then he offered up a goal, but still managed to slip in a joke in his dry, deadpan way.
"I'd like to hit a 4.2," Cooper said with a hint of a grin. "But how realistic is that, I don't know? I want to run in the 4.4's. A 4.44, 4.45, something like that. That's a goal of mine."
For four years at Florida, Cooper was Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow's roommate. In many ways Cooper is the anti-Tebow. His indifference could be misleading and his passion for football is a little deeper under the surface than his roomie's, whose passion overflows in almost never-before-seen ways.
When you get below the surface of Cooper, you understand. Another case in point: When asked what he hopes to accomplish at the Combine, he gave a curious answer. But when you dig into it, you understand his goal is to simply do his best and let the chips fall where they may.
"I have no idea," he said. "I've got to show them what I do well. If they need it, they'll pick me."
Cooper's a bottom line kind of guy. He doesn't want to talk about playing football, he just wants to do it.
ATLANTA FALCONS OFFSEASON COVERAGE
I always love to hear what you've got to say. Leave a comment or email me for the Weekly Mailbag: jdanielcox@gmail.com. Click "subscribe" to receive emails whenever a new article is posted. Follow me on Twitter.
Examiner Bio Riley Cooper steps out from the shadows in senior year at Florida
February 27, 1:36 PMAtlanta Falcons ExaminerDaniel CoxPrevious
WR Riley Cooper catching a TD pass in '09. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)University of Florida wide receiver Riley Cooper, at first glance, doesn't look like or sound like he belongs at the NFL Combine.
Standing at 6'3", 222 pounds he has the requisite size, but his long locks and laid-back way of speaking imply a Florida-born, beach bum.
But when you listen closely you realize he's not being cavalier with his sometimes short answers, he simply doesn't put a lot of thought into it. And it's a good thing.
Pushing a reported $250,000 contract to play baseball for the Texas Rangers away to focus solely on football, Cooper spoke about his decision Friday at the NFL Combine like it was as simple as deciding what to have for lunch.
"Baseball is out of the question," said Cooper. "I was supposed to show up January 17, get half my signing bonus, and take my physical. But I opted not to show up. My dad called them and said 'Thanks for everything, we appreciate it. But for our family, we're going to do football.'"
After a huge senior season at the Florida, he appears to have made the right decision. For much of his career he was hidden behind current-NFL talents Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin at wideout for the Gators, but 2009 was his year to shine. 30 career receptions in college morphed into 81 career catches for 1,496 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Murphy and Harvin shared their draft experience with Cooper, telling him that it's going to be crazy and to just take things day-by-day. It's the kind of feedback the receiver listened to, but didn't really need to hear. He's not the type of guy to create expectations about anything. Case in point: When asked about the adjustments he'll have to make transitioning from college to the NFL, Cooper replied that he didn't know and since he wasn't there yet he couldn't know.
Cooper just wants to play some football. He admitted that he's not much of a fan of the NFL game, for no reason in particular. Since he was playing the college game, he preferred watching and keeping up with that. He wouldn't compare himself to another player in part because he thought it was irrelevant, but also because he probably wasn't very familiar with them.
"I kind of just play my own game," Cooper said. "I don't really watch NFL football too much, just college. I just go out there and play to my strengths."
So what are his strengths? Accentuating the positive for one thing. Another is being a physical blocker.
The 22-year-old Cooper uses his size well to block in the running game. He's a physical player in general and he feels teams like that about him.
"Most everyone I talked to said they really like that about me," he said. "Especially the run blocking and things like that. That's one of my strengths, one of the things I do best. I hope they all like it."
That physical play naturally translates to special teams, a phase of the game he's especially proud of.
"I started on kickoff my freshman and sophomore year," the receiver said. "I loved it. I was the gunner--the guy who made most of the tackles. This year I played kick return. I was the lead blocker for B. James. I feel like I could definitely help a team out. Maybe not returning it, but with some other things."
In a brief moment, he exposed his high level of confidence, but his interview coaching caught up with him and he backtracked.
"I love doing it," he said. "I love going down there. I'm good...I'm decent at special teams."
Much of his post-season training has been focused on the 40-yard dash. For the first time since he can remember, his football offseason isn't consumed by baseball. He's using the extra time to show NFL scouts that he's not just a big, physical receiver. He's also fast.
"I want to run a good time," he said. "I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to run a good time. I know I'm fast, but I've got to go out there and prove it."
Then he offered up a goal, but still managed to slip in a joke in his dry, deadpan way.
"I'd like to hit a 4.2," Cooper said with a hint of a grin. "But how realistic is that, I don't know? I want to run in the 4.4's. A 4.44, 4.45, something like that. That's a goal of mine."
For four years at Florida, Cooper was Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow's roommate. In many ways Cooper is the anti-Tebow. His indifference could be misleading and his passion for football is a little deeper under the surface than his roomie's, whose passion overflows in almost never-before-seen ways.
When you get below the surface of Cooper, you understand. Another case in point: When asked what he hopes to accomplish at the Combine, he gave a curious answer. But when you dig into it, you understand his goal is to simply do his best and let the chips fall where they may.
"I have no idea," he said. "I've got to show them what I do well. If they need it, they'll pick me."
Cooper's a bottom line kind of guy. He doesn't want to talk about playing football, he just wants to do it.
ATLANTA FALCONS OFFSEASON COVERAGE
I always love to hear what you've got to say. Leave a comment or email me for the Weekly Mailbag: jdanielcox@gmail.com. Click "subscribe" to receive emails whenever a new article is posted. Follow me on Twitter.