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Hargreaves, Cooper provide All-American matchup

By WTOP Staff

MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — For two guys who have never met, Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and Alabama receiver Amari Cooper sure know a lot about each other.

It helps that they follow one another on Twitter.

On Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Hargreaves will follow Cooper all over the field. And they’ll surely get even more acquainted.

It’s the key matchup, the game inside the game, the Southeastern Conference’s best cornerback against the league’s best receiver. All-American vs. All-American.

“I can’t wait to see that,” Gators defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. said.

The outcome could go a long way to determining how the Gators (2-0, 1-0 SEC) fare against third-ranked Alabama (3-0, 0-0), which opened as a 15 1/2-point favorite.

“I’m excited about the matchup,” Hargreaves said. “Everybody knows what’s coming. I’m going to be covering him and I’m excited about it.”

A 5-foot-11 sophomore from Tampa, Hargreaves emerged as a shutdown cornerback last year. He started the final 10 games, finishing with three interceptions, 11 pass-breakups and countless accolades. He was on just about every freshman All-American team out there and opened this season with even more hype.

Not only was he compared to former Florida standout cornerbacks Lito Sheppard, Keiwan Ratliff, Joe Haden and Janoris Jenkins, he was widely considered to be ahead of all of them at this stage in his college career.

“I think certain guys have ‘it,’ the ‘it,'” Gators coach Will Muschamp said. “What is ‘it?’ The guys who overcome coaching in some situations. He certainly does that. He’s got great instincts. He’s very quick. He’s got good long speed. He has natural ability to play with his back to the ball, which a lot of players really struggle with.”

Teammates rave about his work ethic, pointing to his practice habits and seemingly endless tape study.

“He spends as much time as anybody on our football team, including the quarterbacks, as far as studying the film and studying what he’s supposed to do and how he’s supposed to do it,” Muschamp said.

His first real test of the season — and biggest in two years — comes against Cooper.

A 6-foot-1 junior from Miami, Cooper has 33 catches for 454 yards and two touchdowns in three games. No other Crimson Tide receiver has double-digits receptions.

“Coop’s got really good size, very quick for a guy his size,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “He’s got explosive speed. He’s exceptionally good against press, coming off the ball, but he’s also very good coming out of a break. Most of the time the defender gets beat either on the release or out of the break. A lot of guys are pretty good at one and maybe not as good at the other. And he has really good hands and good ball skills.

“So he’s the complete package when it comes to a guy that is a pretty complete player. He’ll probably get a lot more man-to-man type coverage in this game, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles that. He does a good job with it in practice.”

Cooper leads the nation in receptions and ranks third in receiving yards, giving inexperienced quarterback Blake Sims a reliable, go-to target.

Cooper caught 59 passes for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns as a freshman in 2011. He broke a 62-year-old school record for TD receptions and topped Alabama’s freshman mark for catches, yards and touchdowns set by Julio Jones in 2008.

He’s shown significant strides already this season, especially with the way he’s handled adversity.

“You just have to know that sometimes you’re going to have a bad play,” he said. “And Coach knows that. He’s coached many players, and every player that he’s coached, none of them were perfect, so I had to realize that I wasn’t perfect, and I’ll have a bad play and just forget about it and move on.”

Florida’s secondary is trying to do the same. The unit was worked for a bunch of big plays in a triple-overtime thriller against Kentucky. Hargreaves was the lone exception — one reason he’ll spend most of Saturday singled up against Cooper.

“Coop, he’s a great player,” Hargreaves said. “We talked a little bit. We both knew this was coming. He’s excited, I’m excited. We both know the magnitude of the game, and it’s going to be a great matchup.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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