Now before one starts yelling obscenities, please heed to the argument.
Current Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley and former Tide superstar Amari Cooper are both Florida natives. With the exception of one star rating (Ridley 5, Cooper 4), both individual are gifted with a set of secure hands, substantial acceleration and keen route running capabilities.
During this moment in Ridley’s career and the 2013 offseason for Cooper, the paths of both intersect.
Ridley burst onto scene in 2015, as a backup behind sophomore Robert Foster. An injury to Foster’s rotator cuff versus Ole Miss combined with Cam Sims’ knee injury in spring practice, assisted Ridley in being the next one in line. Upon grabbing the opportunity, he would go on to record 1,045 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 89 catches. He set the Crimson Tide’s single-season freshman record with a big-armed quarterback in Jake Coker—who had a full year of the system under his belt (2014) prior to Ridley coming.
Ironically, Cooper fell under the same story.
His freshman year (2012) was supposed to have been a breakout moment for either DeAndrew White or five-star prospect Chris Black. Medical mishaps to both guys propelled Cooper to amass 1,000 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on 59 receptions during the 2012 season. His success was aided by AJ McCarron, who was in his second year as Alabama’s starting quarterback. Like Ridley, Cooper re-wrote the school’s single-season freshman record that was set by ex-Tide standout Julio Jones in 2008 (58 catches, 924 yards, four scores).
The latter of two differences between Ridley and Cooper to this point was their production as sophomores, and reasons for why it failed to follow up a jaw-dropping freshman campaign.
Toe issues frustrated Cooper for much of the 2013 season.
He couldn’t get on the same page with McCarron, which dropped him to 45 catches for 736 yards and four touchdowns that year. He would return to form against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, but Cooper did not lead the team in receiving and Alabama did not win a conference title.
While one can rightfully call Cooper’s sophomore year “a slump,” Ridley’s second season at Alabama was a transitional period. After learning Coker in 2015, he had to adjust his game to work with a true freshman quarterback in Jalen Hurts to open the 2016 regular season. Passes that Coker hit Ridley in stride on would be missed by Hurts, due to a lack of timing and communication.
Ridley became more of a blocking receiver, clearing the way for four 100-yard rushing performances from Hurts while getting 769 yards and seven scores on 72 catches. Unlike Cooper, Ridley won a Southeastern Conference championship as a sophomore and came six seconds shy of earning a second national title ring.
Recognition is what separated Cooper from Ridley right now. Prior to starting his first year at quarterback in 2014, Blake Sims immediately located the best receiver for the Tide and started training with him.
The two had sessions on timing routes and watched film after each practice.
The respect both guys had for each other led to Cooper re-writing his own history, totaling 124 catches for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns. He guided Alabama to a conference title, while becoming a Heisman finalist and a Biletnikoff Award (nation’s top receiver) winner in 2014. Cooper’s junior year lifted him to being the Tide’s career leader in receptions (228), yards (3,463) and touchdowns (31). His brand of playmaking abilities opened a first round draft stock, as he was taken fourth overall by the Oakland Raiders in the 2015 NFL Draft.
With ArDarius Stewart, O.J. Howard and Gehrig Dieter all heading to this year’s NFL Draft, Ridley returns as the primary target. Whoever is under center between Hurts and five-star freshman Tua Tagovailoa must recognize and devote time to build chemistry with Ridley. To bring it all full circle, should Ridley total 67 catches, 1,649 yards and 17 scores, he would tie Cooper for first all-time in school history for a career.
Stephen M. Smith is a senior analyst and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
