Cooper shunned as first-team WR on preseason all-SEC team

Pharoh Cooper has been promising via Twitter that preseason predictions mean nothing, that South Carolina is a new team this year and don’t be surprised if the Gamecocks do much better than expected.

He now has a personal reason to feel slighted.

Cooper, the SEC’s leading returning receiver in catches and yards, didn’t make first-team preseason All-SEC on the media’s ballot. While Cooper made the first team as an all-purpose player, and second-team as a receiver and return specialist, he was trumped on the first-team receiver list by Ole Miss’ Laquon Treadwell and Auburn’s D’haquille Williams.

Treadwell, the top vote-getter at receiver with 169 points, caught 48 balls for 632 yards before a gruesome leg injury ended his season after nine games last year. Williams (154 votes) had 45 catches for 730 yards in 10 games, missing two with a knee injury.

Cooper played in 13 games and caught 69 balls for 1,136 yards, second in yardage to Alabama’s Amari Cooper and third in catches behind Amari Cooper and Missouri’s Bud Sasser. He was a unanimous first-team All-SEC selection in 2014.

But that wasn’t good enough for a first-team preseason nod from the 194 voters who cast a ballot at SEC Media Days.

Cooper’s status as a wildcat quarterback and return man made him first-team all-purpose. In addition to his receiving statistics, he rushed 27 times for 200 yards, completed 5-of-8 passes for 78 yards and returned 15 punts for 75 yards. He accounted for 13 touchdowns, and had a hand in four during last year’s Tennessee game (two receiving, one rushing, one passing).

Those numbers awarded him a first-team all-purpose vote and second-team as a return man and receiver. His three mentions on the ballot were one more than the rest of the Gamecocks had as a team.

Junior place-kicker Elliott Fry made the second team, 13 votes behind first-teamer Marshall Morgan of Georgia. Senior offensive tackle Brandon Shell made the third team.

USC had no players on any of the three defensive teams.

2015 PRE-SEASON MEDIA DAYS ALL-SEC TEAM

(Total points earned in parenthesis)

OFFENSE

First team

QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State (170)

RB Nick Chubb, Georgia (189)

RB Leonard Fournette, LSU (180)

WR Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss (169)

WR D'haquille Williams, Auburn (154)

TE Evan Engram, Ole Miss (128)

OL Cam Robinson, Alabama (167)

OL Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss (159)

OL Vadal Alexander, LSU (131)

OL John Theus, Georgia (129)

C Ryan Kelly, Alabama (144)

Second team

QB Jeremy Johnson, Auburn (89)

RB Derrick Henry, Alabama (151)

RB Jonathan Williams, Arkansas (82)

WR Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina (147)

WR De'Runnya Wilson, Mississippi State (59)

TE Hunter Henry, Arkansas (97)

OL Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M (124)

OL Dan Skipper, Arkansas (95)

OL Denver Kirkland, Arkansas (85)

OL Greg Pyke, Georgia (83)

C Mike Matthews, Texas A&M (108)

Third team

QB Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee (62)

RB Alex Collins, Arkansas (80)

RB Kenyan Drake, Alabama (34)

WR Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia (50)

WR Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M (39)

TE O.J. Howard, Alabama (87)

OL Sebastian Tretola, Arkansas (72)

OL Alex Kozan, Auburn (69)

OL Avery Young, Auburn (57)

OL Brandon Shell, South Carolina (50)

C Evan Boehm, Missouri (81)

DEFENSE

First team

DL Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss (173)

DL A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama (160)

DL Myles Garrett, Texas A&M (155)

DL Carl Lawson, Auburn (131)

LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama (181)

LB Jordan Jenkins, Georgia (121)

LB Curt Maggitt, Tennessee (102)

DB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida (186)

DB Cyrus Jones, Alabama (126)

DB Jonathan Jones, Auburn (122)

DB Jalen Mills, LSU (118)

Second team

DL Jonathan Bullard, Florida (115)

DL Derek Barnett, Tennessee (105)

DL Jonathan Allen, Alabama (99)

DL Chris Jones, Mississippi State (93)

LB Kendell Beckwith, LSU (93)

LB Leonard Floyd, Georgia (92)

LB Cassanova McKinzy, Auburn (80)

DB Tony Conner, Ole Miss (117)

DB Cameron Sutton, Tennessee (115)

DB Will Redmond, Mississippi State (79)

DB Tre'Davious White, LSU (61)

Third team

DL Montravius Adams, Auburn (90)

DL Jarran Reed, Alabama (60)

DL Davon Godchaux, LSU (40)

DL Marquis Haynes, Ole Miss (34)

LB Kris Frost, Auburn (77)

LB Antonio Morrison, Florida (66)

LB Kentrell Brothers, Missouri (61)

DB A.J. Stamps, Kentucky (59)

DB Eddie Jackson, Alabama (58)

DB Jamal Adams, LSU (56)

DB Johnathan Ford, Auburn (52)

SPECIALISTS

First team

P JK Scott, Alabama (161)

PK Marshall Morgan, Georgia (100)

RS Speedy Noil, Texas A&M (117)

AP Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina (112)

Second team

P Drew Kaser, Texas A&M (92)

PK Elliott Fry, South Carolina (87)

RS Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina (75)

AP Leonard Fournette, LSU (85)

Third team

P Jamie Keehn, LSU (52)

PK Austin MacGinnis, Kentucky (59)

RS Leonard Fournette, LSU (66)

AP Speedy Noil, Texas A&M (84)

This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 11:37 AM.