BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Brandin Cooks (born September 25, 1993) is an American football wide receiver 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 atOregon State.
Early Years Cooks attended Lincoln High School in Stockton, California. As a sophomore, he saw minimal time, recording 29 receptions for 600 yards and seven touchdowns. As a junior he had 46 receptions for 783 yards and 10 touchdowns, while collecting three interceptions on the defensive end. As a senior, he had 66 receptions for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns. He became a national talent and was ranked 26th by Rivals.com at wide receiver and 240th in the overall field.[1]
Following his senior year, Cooks was offered multiple scholarship offers, including offers from the following Division 1 programsUniversity of Arizona, Oregon State University, Washington State University, and University of Washington. He committed to the Oregon State Beavers on November 29, 2011. For both his junior and senior seasons, he earned Offensive Player of the Year in the Section, All-Area, and team MVP. He also played basketball and ran track, competing in the Junior Olympics as a sprinter.[2]
College career
As a true freshman in 2011, Cooks played in all 12 games with three starts. He finished the season with 31 receptions for 391 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to his receiving duties, he was 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 wideouts combined for 158 receptions, 2,395 yards and 16 touchdowns.[3]
During his junior year in 2013, he had 128 receptions, 1,730 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.[4] The receptions and receiving yards were Pac-12 records.[5][6][7] He was held to under 100 yards only four times and exceeded 200 yards in a game twice.[8] At the end of the season he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and was a consensus All-American.[9][10] His winning of the award made it the second in Oregon State history, the other being Mike Hass in 2005.
College Awards & Honors[edit]
- Biletnikoff Award (2013)
- Consensus All-American (2013)
- First-team All-Pac-12 (2013)
- All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention (2012)
- 3rd in all time career receiving yards in Oregon State school history (3272)
- 2013 NCAA leader in receiving yards (1730)
- 2013 Pac-12 leader in receiving touchdowns (16)
- 2012 Pac-12 leader in yards per reception (17.2)
Track and field
Cooks was also a standout athlete for the Oregon State University track team. He posted personal bests of 6.81 seconds in the 60 meters, 10.72 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.59 seconds in the 200 meters.
Personal bests
| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 meters | 6.81 | Seattle, Washington | January 28, 2012 |
| 100 meters | 10.72 | Eugene, Oregon | May 12, 2012 |
| 200 meters | 21.59 | Clovis, California | June 4, 2010 |
Professional career
On January 2, 2014, Cooks announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.[11] He 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.[12]
On May 18, 2014, the Saints signed Cooks to a four-year contract worth $8.3 million.[13]
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.[14]
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