Pharoh Cooper expected to get more action this weekend
Lost in this week’s Jadeveon Clowney controversy has been senior quarterback Connor Shaw’s heroic effort to play through pain.
Last season, he overcame several injuries, including a cracked throwing shoulder. This year, that same shoulder has caused discomfort for Shaw after he sprained it against Central Florida. He was expected to miss at least a couple weeks, but he suited up the following week against Kentucky.
Shaw said he always had the mentality to play through the injury no matter what, because he did not want to miss games during his final year as a Gamecock.
He played well against the Wildcats, opening up with a long pass to junior Damiere Byrd for a 62-yard touchdown on his way to completing 85 percent of his passes on the day.
“It was amazing. Connor’s a real tough dude,” true freshman wide receiver Pharoh Cooper said. “He has great leadership and is someone you can really look up to if you’re a young guy. Getting hurt, but then coming back to have a strong game, that really shows a lot about him and how he feels about this team.”
Shaw has thrown seven touchdowns and still has no interceptions this season. Quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus has been impressed with the senior’s smart play and his dual-threat ability.
Mangus said it is disheartening for opposing defenses to deal with someone who can complete deep and intermediate passes and who also can escape pressure on third downs to move the chains with his feet.
“I think Connor has the full respect of everyone on the team and has for quite a long time,” Mangus said. “I don’t think anyone can question his toughness. It’s going to have to be something pretty severe to keep him from doing what he wants to do.”
Shaw should be prepared to escape some pressure, as Arkansas has a pair of talented defensive ends. Senior Chris Smith and junior Trey Flowers have combined for 10 sacks through the Razorbacks’ first six games.
Offensive line coach Shawn Elliott said there are no plans to change things up in order to deal with Smith and Flowers. However, if necessary, South Carolina will make adjustments by keeping a tight end or extra running back in the backfield to protect Shaw.
The Gamecocks might continue to switch things up by lining Cooper up at quarterback in the “Wildcat” formation. The freshman sparked South Carolina Saturday, tallying 26 yards on two carries, including an important 23-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to help set up a short touchdown run by Shaw.
Both Cooper and head coach Steve Spurrier said that he will get some more snaps as the quarterback against the Razorbacks.
Cooper was recruited as a defensive back but made the switch to receiver in preseason camp after Spurrier saw what he could do with the ball.
Cooper played quarterback in high school, so he is used to touching the ball often, but he noted the college atmosphere is quite different.
“It’s great, you know, 85,000 fans screaming. I’m just a freshman, so I’m not used to that,” he said. “In high school, you don’t have a lot of fans, but going out on the field with all those fans, it was pretty amazing.”
With Cooper’s addition, the running ability of the offensive backfield has gotten stronger.
Shaw and Cooper are mobile under center, but sophomore tailback Mike Davis has been the force driving the running game.
Davis is third in the SEC with 614 rushing yards but has played one less game than the two running backs ahead of him, including Arkansas halfback Alex Collins. Davis leads the conference in yards per game to go along with eight touchdowns and an impressive 6.7 yards per carry.
Davis admitted after the Kentucky game that he expected success, but not at this high of a level.
“One thing [is] for sure; he’s definitely gotten a lot more confidence,” running backs coach Everette Sands said. “I think he might have surprised himself a little bit with that first big run. But now, he’s expecting more to have those big runs. I truly believe if you expect to have more, you’re going to get more.”