Dec. 21, 2015
University of South Carolina junior Pharoh Cooper has been selected to Phil Steele Publication’s All-SEC first-team unit as a wide receiver, while junior linebacker Skai Moore garnered a spot on Steele’s All-SEC second team.
Cooper a 5-11, 207-pounder from Havelock, N.C., led the team with 66 receptions for 973 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2015 campaign. He ranked second in the SEC in receiving yards (81.1) and fifth in receptions (5.5) per game. A team captain, Cooper caught 35 percent of the team’s passes for 39 percent of the yards thrown. His 66 receptions was more than the rest of the Gamecock wide receivers’ combined total of 56 and was the seventh-highest single-season mark in school history. His 973 receiving yards was the sixth-best single-season total at Carolina. He logged five 100-yard receiving games in 2015 and has nine in his three-year career. He also rushed 24 times for 111 yards and a touchdown, completed 2-of-5 passes for 11 yards and a score and returned 12 punts for 55 yards, averaging 94.9 all-purpose yards per game. He finished his junior year with 138 career catches (ninth all-time) for 2,163 yards (eighth all-time) with 18 touchdown receptions (sixth all-time).
Moore, a 6-2, 218-pounder from Cooper City, Fla., paced the Gamecock defense with 111 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions. He tied for third in the SEC in tackles (9.2) and tied for fifth in interceptions (0.33) per game. A team captain, he became the first Gamecock to reach the century mark in tackles since 2006, while his 111 tackles was the second-highest total recorded by a South Carolina player in the last 25 years. He led the team in tackles for the third-consecutive season, becoming the first Gamecock to do so since 1992-94, and led the team in interceptions for the second time in three years. He recorded double-figures in tackles six times during the 2015 campaign, including a career-high 14 stops at Texas A&M. His 11 career interceptions rank in a tie for third on the school’s all-time list.
Previously, Cooper was named first-team All-SEC as both a wide receiver and an all-purpose back by the SEC Coaches. He was a first-team All-SEC wide receiver and a second-team selection as an all-purpose back, according to the Associated Press. Moore was a second-team selection by both the Coaches and the AP.
