Cooper Earns Triple Respect From SEC Coaches

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — University of South Carolina junior standout Pharoh Cooper earned three spots on the All-SEC first-team, as the annual preseason Coaches‘ All-SEC football squads were announced today. Cooper, a 5-11, 207-pounder from Havelock, N.C., was named to the first team unit as a wide receiver, as the all-purpose back and as the return specialist. Cooper is coming off a breakout season in which he earned first-team All-SEC honors as a wide receiver and was a second-team pick as an all-purpose back. He finished third in the SEC in receptions (69), second in receiving yards (1,136) and receiving yards per game (87.4), fourth in receptions per game (5.3) and ninth in all-purpose yards per game (108.5). Cooper has previously been named to the 2015 watch lists for the Biletnikoff, Maxwell and Hornung awards. Earlier this summer, Cooper was selected as a first-team preseason All-SEC all-purpose back and was a second-team selection as both a wide receiver and return specialist by the media at SEC Media Days. Senior offensive tackle Brandon Shell and junior placekicker Elliott Fry were named to the All-SEC third team by the league‘s 14 coaches. Shell, a 6-6, 328-pounder from Goose Creek, S.C., is the most experienced offensive lineman on the squad, as he has made 36 starts over the past three seasons, the most on the team. A two-time member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, Shell was also a preseason third-team All-SEC pick by the media. Last season Fry, a Groza Award semifinalist, connected on 18-of-25 field goals, ranked third in the SEC with 105 points, the third-highest single-season mark in school history, and was fifth in in the SEC in points per game at 8.1. The 6-0, 164-pound junior from Frisco, Texas has hit on 33-of-43 career field goal attempts and on 105-of-106 extra points, including his last 99 in a row, a school record. Fry is on the 2015 Groza preseason watch list, was nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and was a second-team preseason All-SEC selection by the media. He was also a member of the 2014 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. The SEC begins its 2015 season on Thursday, September 3, when South Carolina faces North Carolina in Charlotte at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN. 2015 Preseason Coaches All-SEC Football Teams (* – ties) First Team Preseason All-SEC OFFENSE TE – Evan Engram, Ole Miss OL – Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss Vadal Alexander, LSU Cam Robinson, Alabama John Theus, Georgia C – Mike Matthews, Texas A&M WR – Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss QB – Dak Prescott, Mississippi State RB – Nick Chubb, Georgia Leonard Fournette, LSU AP – Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina DEFENSE DL – Myles Garrett, Texas A&M Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss A‘Shawn Robinson, Alabama Chris Jones, Mississippi State LB – Reggie Ragland, Alabama Curt Maggitt, Tennessee Jordan Jenkins, Georgia DB – Vernon Hargreaves, Florida Cyrus Jones, Alabama Jalen Mills, LSU Jonathan Jones, Auburn SPECIAL TEAMS PK – Marshall Morgan, Georgia P – JK Scott, Alabama RS – Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina Second Team Preseason All-SEC OFFENSE TE – Hunter Henry, Arkansas OL – Dan Skipper, Arkansas Greg Pyke, Georgia Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M Denver Kirkland, Arkansas C – Ryan Kelly, Alabama WR – D‘haquille Williams, Auburn Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia QB – Maty Mauk, Missouri RB – Derrick Henry, Alabama Alex Collins, Arkansas AP – Leonard Fournette, LSU DEFENSE DL – Jonathan Bullard, Florida Derek Barnett, Tennessee Jonathan Allen, Alabama Montravius Adams, Auburn LB – Antonio Morrison, Florida Kentrell Brothers, Missouri Kendell Beckwith, LSU DB – Will Redmond, Mississippi State Tre‘Davious White, LSU Cameron Sutton, Tennessee Tony Conner, Ole Miss SPECIAL TEAMS PK – Austin MacGinnis, Kentucky P – Jamie Keehn, LSU RS – Leonard Fournette, LSU * Isaiah McKenzie, Georgia * Third Team Preseason All-SEC OFFENSE TE – O.J. Howard, Alabama OL – Alex Kozan, Auburn Sebastian Tretola, Arkansas Devonte Danzey, Auburn Jordan Swindle, Kentucky * Brandon Shell, South Carolina * C – Evan Boehm, Missouri WR – Demarcus Robinson, Florida * Travin Dural, LSU * Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M * QB – Jeremy Johnson, Auburn * Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee * RB – Jonathan Williams, Arkansas Russell Hansbrough, Missouri Kelvin Taylor, Florida AP – Speedy Noil, Texas A&M DEFENSE DL – Carl Lawson, Auburn Davon Godchaux, LSU Caleb Azubike, Vanderbilt Ryan Brown, Mississippi State LB – Leonard Floyd, Georgia Cassanova McKinzy, Auburn Lorenzo Carter, Georgia DB – A.J. Stamps, Kentucky Rohan Gaines, Arkansas Trae Elston, Ole Miss Johnathan Ford, Auburn Eddie Jackson, Alabama SPECIAL TEAMS PK – Elliott Fry, South Carolina P – Drew Kaser, Texas A&M RS – Darrius Sims, Vanderbilt Speedy Noil, Texas A&M