The Final Cockdown: #19, Cedrick Cooper

Cedrick Cooper

Redshirt Senior
Defensive End
6'2", 248 pounds
Lithonia, Ga.

Recruitment

Offers from Arkansas, Clemson, Kentucky, Marshall, Minnesota, North Carolina, N.C. State, Ole Miss and Tennessee. The #61 OLB in the country according to Rivals.com and the #65 player overall in the state of Georgia.

College Career

Cooper, originally a linebacker, has had some struggles with staying healthy during his tenure at South Carolina. Following a redshirt in 2011, he was hampered with a back injury during the 2012 spring session but managed to appear in 11 games, mainly as a special teams contributor, before a knee injury sidelined him during the Outback Bowl that year and throughout the entire spring of 2013. He then dislocated his elbow weeks before his redshirt sophomore season and was out for the first three contests before seeing time in the season's final ten games. He then switched from LB to DE and played in the first six games of 2014 before an ankle sprain kept him out for the rest of the year.

2015 Outlook

Cooper entered the preseason as the backup to JUCO transfer Marquavius Lewis at one end, down the line from Gerald Dixon in Jon Hoke's 4-3 set. We could see him get some action as he has in previous years, but we're left to wonder how much more of an impact he could have had if he were healthy throughout his entire time in Columbia.