Riley Cooper Texas Bound?

Riley Cooper may have very well went as the most under appreciated Florida Gator receiver last year.  With Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy almost taking the show, it was easy for Cooper to sneak under the radar especially with the support from other Gator receivers.  However, Cooper could play a huge factor or lack of one next year.

Cooper was 4th last year on the Gators receiving list and is currently in serious contract negotiations with the Texas Rangers.  Gator Bytes gives us a bit of the background behind this:

Cooper, expected to play a major role this fall as a replacement for departed receivers Percy Harvinand Louis Murphy, began his summer playing baseball in the Cape Cod League. But last week he transferred to the McKinney Marshals of the Texas Collegiate League to let the Rangers take a good look at him play as he negotiates his contract.

McKinney is a northern suburb in the Dallas Metroplex, located a stone’s throw from the Rangers’ Class-AA affiliate, the Frisco Roughriders. Through two games, Cooper is batting 1-for-6 with three walks, but his one hit was a two-run home run.

MLB teams have until August 17th to sign their draftees, and Cooper’s father,Larry Cooper, said his son may take the negotiations right up to the deadline. That won’t exactly work out well for the football team, which will begin two-a-days the first week of August. Cooper also missed this year’s spring practice to be with the baseball team.

There are some tough decisions ahead for Riley Cooper.  As a Gator fan it’s easy for us to say “Stay and get another National Championship”.  However, it’s hard to turn down the kind of contract he’s probably in negotiations with and risk another year as a receiver and take a chance towards the NFL draft.  There’s no real guarantee of what he could get in the NFL or if he would even make it as a pro receiver.

“We don’t know. We’re just taking a wait-and-see approach,” Larry Cooper said Sunday night from his home near St. Petersburg. “I don’t think we’ll know those answers until the deadline gets closer.”

Apparently Cooper starting on the Gator Football team will not play a factor into whether he stays or goes.  At this point I think it all depends on what kind of signing bonus that the Cooper family can turn out.  If they are able to negotiate a low 6 figure signing bonus, I think we can kiss Riley goodbye.

About Mat: Mat is the owner and founder of Title Town FL. He brings his web admin experience from several previous popular sports websites. With a fresh take on how websites should have news available, he makes it a fresh read on every page.

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