Brandin Cooks
 Cooks in 2015 preseason. | |||||||||
| No. 10 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver / Return specialist | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | September 25, 1993 Stockton, California | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Oregon State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2014 / round: 1 / pick: 20 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2015 | |||||||||
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Brandin Cooks (born September 25, 1993) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Saints in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State, where he received All-American recognition.
Early years
Cooks attended Lincoln High School in Stockton, California. As a sophomore, he recorded 29 receptions for 600 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior he had 46 receptions for 783 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also collecting three interceptions on the defensive side. As a senior, he had 66 receptions for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cooks was ranked by Rivals.com as the 26th best wide receiver and the 240th overall prospect in his class.[1] He originally committed to play college football at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) but changed to Oregon State University.[2][3] Cooks also played basketball and ran track in high school.
College career
Cooks played at Oregon State from 2011 to 2013. As a true freshman in 2011, he played in all 12 games with three starts. He finished the season with 31 receptions for 391 yards and three touchdowns. He was also a kick returner averaging 22.4 yards a return. As a sophomore in 2012, he had 67 receptions for 1,151 yards and five touchdowns. The combination of Cooks and Markus Wheaton created one of the most dynamic receiving duos in college football and Oregon State history. The two players combined for 158 receptions, 2,395 yards and 16 touchdowns.[4]
During his junior year in 2013, he had 128 receptions, 1,730 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.[5] The receptions and receiving yards were Pac-12 records.[6][7][8] He was held to under 100 yards only four times and exceeded 200 yards in a game twice.[9] At the end of the season he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and was a consensus All-American.[10][11] He was the second Oregon State player to win the Biletnikoff Award, the first being Mike Hass in 2005.
On January 2, 2014, Cooks announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.[12]
Cooks also ran track at Oregon State. He earned a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash at the 2012 UW Invitational, clocking a personal-best time of 6.81 seconds.[13]
Collegiate awards and honors
- Biletnikoff Award (2013)
- Hawaii Bowl Champion (2013)
- Consensus All-American (2013)
- First-team All-Pac-12 (2013)
- All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention (2012)
- 1st all-time career receiving touchdowns at Oregon State (24 touchdowns)
- 3rd all-time career receiving yards at Oregon State (3272 yards)
- 2013 NCAA leader in receiving yards (1730 yards)
- 2013 Pac-12 leader in receiving touchdowns (16 touchdowns)
- 2013 Pac-12 leader in receptions (128 receptions)
- 2012 Pac-12 leader in yards per reception (17.2 yards)
Professional career
2014 NFL Combine
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
189 lb (86 kg) |
4.33 s | 1.53 s | 2.50 s | 3.81 s | 6.76 s | 36 in (0.91 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
16 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine | ||||||||||||
Cooks was selected by the New Orleans Saints as the 20th pick of the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft; the Saints traded up from the 27th spot, giving their first and third round picks to the Arizona Cardinals in return for Arizona's first round pick, in order to get Cooks.[14] On May 18, 2014, the Saints signed Cooks to a four-year contract worth $8.3 million.[15]
In his first career game, Cooks caught seven passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in a narrow loss to the Atlanta Falcons.[16][17][18] Cooks had 53 catches for 550 yards and 3 touchdowns before breaking his thumb in Week 11, ending his season.[19]
Personal
Cooks was 6 years old when his father died of a heart attack, and he was thereafter raised by his mother, Andrea Cooks. He is one of four brothers.[20]
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Brandin Cooks now with Oregon State
- ^ Beavers Insider: Brandin Cooks prepares to face UCLA, team he snubbed for Oregon State
- ^ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/markus-wheaton-1.html
- ^ [2]
- ^ Civil War football: Cooks sets Pac-12 receptions record in loss
- ^ Oregon State wide receiver Cooks looking to break another Pac-12 record against Boise State
- ^ Brandin Cooks putting up big stats for Oregon St
- ^ http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2013-12-12/sporting-news-all-american-football-team/slide/5
- ^ Oregon State's Brandin Cooks wins Biletnikoff Award
- ^ Oregon State football: Brandin Cooks earns consensus All-America status
- ^ "Brandin Cooks declares for draft". ESPN.com news service. 2 Jan 2014.
- ^ http://or.milesplit.com/athletes/2432928-brandin-cooks/feed#.VATXUvmSwrk
- ^ "New Orleans Saints select Brandin Cooks No. 20 overall in the 2014 NFL draft". Sports Illustrated. May 8, 2014.
- ^ Vargas, Ramon Antonio. "Saints sign No. 1 pick Brandin Cooks". The Advocate. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ^ "Brandin Cooks impresses in NFL debut". NFL.
- ^ "Brandin Cooks is popular target for Drew Brees in Saints' debut". The Times-Picayune. September 7, 2014.
- ^ Triplett, Mike (September 7, 2014). "Saints' Cooks lives up to hype in debut". ESPN.
- ^ Triplett, Mike (November 19, 2014). "Agent: Brandin Cooks out 4-6weeks". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
- ^ Mays, Robert (May 7, 2014). "The Big Promise of Brandin Cooks: The smallest man in this year's NFL draft just might be the most talented". Grantland.