Pharoh Cooper must have expected better. This was supposed to be his team. This was supposed to be his year. Now, with this season a disappointment and this program on the verge of collapse, the man so lovingly referred to as King Tuttchdown is jumping ship, just like the coach that recruited him.
Cooper will not likely be remembered as much as players that led the team to three straight 11-win seasons. His name may not be scrawled upon the walls of Williams-Brice, nor his jersey adoringly bought for years to come, nor a statue delivered in his honor. His name will not be as famous as that of Connor Shaw or Marcus Lattimore, because he led a team that won three games, not nine, 10 or 11.
Just like this year as a whole, Cooper did not match preseason expectations. Granted, the expectations were unrealistic and outrageous, but they were what Carolina had come to expect from its hero. But this season, out there on the field, he looked human. Sure, he was fast. But not fast enough to turn the corner on a reverse against Clemson late in the game where it seemed he was our only hope. Yes, he was good, great even. But not good enough to keep the momentum going against Tennessee with a last second punt return.
Looking back on that play, we’d have been better off with him sitting on the bench and no one back there to receive the football, for at least it would have saved us the fright of him fumbling and the penalty yardage received when he swatted the fumble out of bounds.
The biggest disappointment with the beloved Pharoh Cooper, though, was not his play on the field but that he chose to leave this team a year after he failed to lead them to a winning season. Cooper could go on to do great things in the NFL. He may go on to represent this school well, bringing more fame and recognition to his alma mater and donating money to help the program that got him to where he is. Yet if he goes, all that he may do for us in the future is nothing compared to what he could do for the team now.
There’s no denying that Pharoh Cooper was South Carolina’s best player. Even with defenses keying on him every game, he had more than twice the receiving yards of the next best receiver and nearly half of the team’s receiving touchdowns on the season. Even with a questionable quarterback situation, he was just 27 yards away from his second 1,000-yard receiving season.
Cooper did whatever the Gamecocks needed, be that taking snaps as a quarterback, lining up in the slot or receiving punts. There is no doubt that, without him, even those measly three wins wouldn’t have happened. Cooper did everything he could for the Gamecocks this season and gave everything he had. I just know that if he returned for his senior year, he could give the Gamecocks what they need most: stability and a glimmer of hope.
Pharoh, stay here one more year. Be a part of the team that returns this program to its former glory. Get faster, and beat Clemson. Get better, and beat Tennessee. Do something great so that your name is scrawled upon the walls of Williams-Brice. We are going to need more than just a leader. More than just a player that can cause all fans to hold their breath. More than Marquavius Lewis or T.J. Holloman guiding us. We need a king; we need a Pharoh.