The AP released its All-American team today and senior offensive guard Jonathan Cooper was named to the first team. Redshirt sophomore running back Giovani Bernard received third team honors.
Cooper's most recent(of many) honor means he can now be considered a consensus All-American. According to UNC that means his jersey will be honored at Kenan Stadium.
Cooper has earned consensus All-America honors and his name will be added to the honored jerseys in Kenan Stadium. He also was named a first-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association, the Football Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, ESPN.com and Sports Illustrated.
A native of Wilmington, N.C., Cooper graded out at 90 percent on the season and had double digits in knockdown blocks in nine of 12 games this season. He played an important role in Carolina's running game, which averaged 193.8 yards per game, the highest per game average since 1994.
In some of the early NFL Draft prognostications, Cooper continues to get high marks and will likely be a first round pick.
As for the third teamer Bernard, no word yet on if he plans to enter the NFL Draft though such a move would not be surprising. In fact, given how quickly running backs can burn out or have their careers cut short by injury, Bernard is probably better off leaving now.
The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL Draft is January 15th.
