Jonathan Cooper (2013) - Patterson Medal Winners - University of North Carolina Athletics

Jonathan Cooper

Induction:
2013
Class:
2013

2013— Jonathan Cooper: Football (Wilmington, N.C.)
Started a Tar Heel-record 48 games on the offensive line. As a senior, the guard led Carolina to an 8-4 record and a tie for first place in the ACC Coastal Division. He was a consensus first-team All-America in 2012, earning first-team honors from Walter Camp, FWAA, AFCA, AP, ESPN.com, SI, Phil Steele, NBC.com and CBSsports.com. Cooper earned first-team All-ACC honors in 2012 and was a second-team selection in 2010 and 2011.

He had 10 or more knockdown blocks in nine different games in 2012 en route to winning the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best offensive lineman in the ACC. He was Carolina’s first Jacobs Trophy recipient in 25 years.

Cooper was an Outland Trophy finalist as the nation’s top interior lineman and a finalist for the Lombardi Award. He anchored an offensive line that helped Carolina set single-season scoring, passing yardage and total offense school records.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Cooper with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He earned an ACC Postgraduate Honorary Scholarship and won UNC's Jim Tatum Award. He played six seasons in the NFL.