Riley Cooper (born September 9, 1987) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who played six seasons for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where he was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. He was selected by the Eagles in the fifth round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

Early life

Cooper was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, the son of Larry and Monica Cooper.GatorZone.com, Football, Roster
Riley Cooper
Retrieved August 23, 2010. He grew up in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

, where he attended

Clearwater Central Catholic High School Clearwater Central Catholic High School is a private college preparatory school for grades 9 through 12 and located in Clearwater, Florida, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1962, the school enrolls approximately 500 ...

and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

for the Central Catholic Marauders. Cooper was a three-time all-county selection, received all-state honors as wide receiver and free safety after his junior and senior seasons, and was his football team's captain as a senior. Rivals.com ranked him as the tenth-best athlete in the 2006 college football signing class. Cooper was drafted by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in the 15th round (457 overall pick) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. He did not sign with the Phillies because he chose to attend the University of Florida to play football. Cooper's younger sister, Lindsey, also attended the University of Florida, where she played for the Florida Gators women's soccer team. Lindsey is married to former University of Florida linebacker and current Detroit Lions linebacker

Alex Anzalone Alex Anzalone ( , born September 22, 1994) is an American professional football linebacker for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators. Anzalone was selected in the third round ...

College career

Cooper accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. During his freshman season in 2006, Cooper served as the " gunner" on special teams and played in 13 of the 14 games for the Gators. He established a then-career-high with three receptions (all touchdowns) in the romp over Western Carolina. Cooper was nominated SEC Freshman of the Week following his performance. He was the first Gator freshman wide receiver to have three touchdown catches in a game since Jabar Gaffney accomplished the feat in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Cooper saw action in Florida's triumphs over Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, mostly on special teams. He made his collegiate debut with one reception for 10 yards against

Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...

. Cooper gained 92 yards on four receptions, three of which went for touchdowns, on the season. As a sophomore, Cooper appeared in 10 games during the year with two starts in home contests against Tennessee and Auburn. He missed games against Georgia and Vanderbilt as a result of a broken finger suffered in the first quarter at Kentucky. He dressed but did not compete in the Capital One Bowl against Michigan, which the Gators lost. Cooper hauled in a career-high and team-best four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 59-yard grab in his 2007 debut against Western Kentucky. Cooper caught eight passes, gaining 182 yards and scoring two total touchdowns in 2007. Cooper appeared in fourteen games for the Gators in his junior season, starting all but two (against Hawaii and Florida State). He hauled in a key touchdown, along with a season-high 51-yard reception, that put Florida in scoring position during the SEC Championship Game against Alabama. He totaled 28 yards on two receptions in the BCS National Championship Game, including a crucial 17-yard catch from Tim Tebow on 3rd-and-12. Cooper amassed 261 total yards on 18 receptions, three of which were touchdowns. In his senior season, Cooper totaled 961 yards on 51 receptions, with nine touchdowns and an average of 18.8 yards per catch.

Baseball

Cooper was drafted by the

out of high school in the 15th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. Cooper passed on the contract and played college baseball for the

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I (NCAA), Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the of the Southeastern Conference ...

team as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He was drafted again in 2009–in the 25th round, the 754th player chosen that year–after which he signed a deal to play baseball for the Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

but decided to delay his MLB career and returned to play football for the Gators football team in 2009. He was scheduled to get a physical and receive half of his $250,000 signing bonus on January 17, but declined and told the Rangers that his focus was football, thus voiding his baseball contract.

Professional career

2010 season

Cooper was selected by the

in the fifth round (159th overall) of the

. He was signed to a four-year contract on July 13, 2010. Cooper caught his first NFL touchdown in a game against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. He ended his first season with 7 receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown.

2011 season

He scored his second touchdown of his career against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in week 10 of the 2011 NFL season on an 8-yard completion from Vince Young. Coming off the bench, he posted 16 receptions for 315 yards and a touchdown.

2012 season

Cooper broke his collarbone on July 28, 2012, and missed time, but returned mid-season. He made a one-handed catch for a touchdown against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He scored again in the second meeting of the season against the Cowboys, again on a one-handed catch. While mostly a reserve, he ended the season with 23 receptions for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns.

2013 season

Cooper had a breakout season during the last year of his rookie contract. He started the season used mostly for blocking, rather than for his receiving ability. In the first 5 weeks, he posted 8 catches for 93 yards and 1 touchdown with

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Norfolk State Spartans football, Norfolk State University. He played quarterback in the National F ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. Cooper had a career game in Week 9 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

, where he posted 5 receptions for 139 yards (27.8 avg) and 3 touchdowns. After a slow start, Cooper put together a solid season with 47 receptions for 835 yards and 8 touchdowns, all career highs. He ended the season tied for third in the NFL with 17.8 yards per catch.

2014 season

On February 27, Cooper signed an extension deal valued at $25 million over five years, with $8 million fully guaranteed. During the 2014 NFL season, Cooper caught 55 of 95 targets for 577 yards and 3 touchdowns.

2015 season

Cooper continued to play with the Eagles during the 2015 season. In a game against the

on November 9, Cooper left the game with a foot injury. Cooper finished the season with 21 receptions off 41 targets for 327 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cooper didn't record a single reception in 7 of 16 games. He was released by the Eagles on February 8, 2016. Cooper then spent the entire 2016 season out of football. On December 12, 2017, Cooper announced his retirement from the NFL via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Controversy

In July 2013, a video surfaced of Cooper being denied backstage access at a

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

concert in the previous month. The video showed Cooper yelling a racial epithet at the bouncers who denied him backstage. In the dispute with a black security guard at the concert, Cooper said, "I will jump that fence and fight every nigger here." In the aftermath, the Philadelphia Eagles fined Cooper an undisclosed amount, but still allowed him to resume activities with the team.

References

External links

*
Florida Gators profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Riley 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Clearwater, Florida Players of American football from Oklahoma City American football wide receivers Florida Gators baseball players Florida Gators football players Philadelphia Eagles players