Full Name: Brandin Cooks

Date of Birth: September 25, 1993

Hometown: Stockton, California

High School: Lincoln High School

Class: Junior

Major: Human Development and Family Sciences

Twitter: @brandincooks

Via OSUBeavers.com

Background

Cooks was born on September 25, 1993 in Stockton, California to his parents Worth and Andrea Cooks. Brandin is one of four brothers with Worth Jr, Fred, Andre and his stepbrother Maurice Washington, who spent time on the Oakland Raiders' practice squad.

Cooks attended Lincoln High School where he was a multi-sport star and earned six varsity letters in football, track and basketball. Cooks showed off his speed on the gridiron and in track, competing as a sprinter in the Junior Olympics. But his future was on the football field and he showed it during three years with the Lincoln Trojans varsity squad. As a sophomore, Cooks posted 29 receptions for 600 yards and seven touchdowns. In his junior year, Cooks increased his numbers up to 46 receptions for 783 yards and 10 touchdowns. He ended his senior season on top, posting 66 receptions for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns. Cooks become was again the focal point of the Trojans' passing attack, posting back-to-back 10+ touchdown seasons.

After his senior season, Cooks saw plenty of attention from colleges. He was rated a three-star recruit by Scout.com and the 67th ranked wide receiver in the nation. Cooks was praised for his speed, hands and work ethic, but was knocked below other wide receivers because of his size. Cooks was ranked below recruits like Trey Metoyer, Kasen Williams, Jarvis Landry, Sammy Watkins and Kelvin Benjamin. Williams, Landry, Watkins and Benjamin all are part of the 2014 NFL Draft class while Metoyer has 19 career receptions in two seasons.

Statistics

2011 (Freshman): 31 receptions for 391 yards, 12.6 yards per catch, three touchdowns, 10 carries for 41 rushing yards and eight kickoff returns for 179 yards

2012 (Sophomore): 67 receptions for 1,151 yards, 17.2 yards per catch, five touchdowns and 19 carries for 82 yards

2013 (Junior): 128 receptions for 1,730 yards, 13.5 yards per catch, 16 touchdowns, 32 carries for 217 yards, two rushing touchdowns and 18 punt returns for 72 yards

Immediately upon arriving at Oregon State, Cooks saw playing time right away in his freshman year. The Beavers had to rely on him immediately as a freshman when James Rodgers went down with an injury, forcing Cooks into his first ever start. He became the first true freshman to start at wide receiver since 1995, with Roddy Tompkins doing it against Montana. He posted three receptions for 26 yards in his first game, but his role on the team decreased with the return of Rodgers. Cooks best game as a freshman came against Brigham Young when he posted three receptions for 90 yards and his first touchdown. Desir ended his first season with three touchdowns and over 600 total yards.

Cooks entered his sophomore year as a starter and he delivered on all of the expectations. Cooks would be paired with Beavers' star wide receiver Markus Wheaton as the pair would look to form one of the best receiving duo's in the country. Cooks saw expanded usage as part of Oregon State's offense and more than doubled his reception total, while eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. His 1,151 receiving yards marked seventh in school history, and along with Wheaton became the first wide receivers to post 1,000-yard seasons since 2003. He finished the year with five touchdowns, and a career high 17.2 yards per catch. Cooks best game as a sophomore came on the road against Washington, when he posted nine receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Cooks finished the year as a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award and named Pac-12 Conference honorable mentions.

Entering his junior season, Cooks had put in extra preparation in the offseason with his eyes set on a record year and earning the title of the best wide receiver in the country. He surpassed even the wildest expectations as he made his case to be the best wide receiver in Oregon State history. Cooks nearly doubled his receptions total from the year before with 128 this past season, which also set a Pac-12 single season record. Cooks broke the franchise marks for touchdowns in a single season with 16 and single season receiving yards with 1,730, which broke USC wide receiver Marqise Lee's Pac-12 record of 1,721. Cooks posted six games with 10 receptions or more and eight games of 100 or more receiving yards. It was more than enough to earn Cooks Pac-12 Conference First-Team honors and helped him earn the Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver in the season.

Extra Facts:

For a player who has spent a lot of time on the football playing special teams and wide receiver, Cooks has always been about consistency and toughness.

Despite hurting his ankle on several occasions, Cooks has never missed a game from high school through three years with the Beavers.

Cooks has battled through injuries and some struggles in college but as he turns the page and looks toward the NFL, he credits his mother, Andrea Cooks, for inspiration and making it through it all. Cooks father passed away of a heart attack when Brandin was just six, leaving his mother to raise and feed her four children. “She would go to work, make sure food was on the table, and still drive us to school and stuff like that”.

Cooks quickly learned about work ethic and working hard as a kid and it’s something that helped him take the next step this year and his teammates have noticed. Beavers' quarterback Sean Mannion praised Cooks earlier in the year saying, “What’s great about Brandin is how willing he is to work hard.

Throughout the offseason, we made a point to throw five or six days a week. When fall camp started, we had already thrown 1,000 balls to each other”

Cooks also drew praise from Beavers’ wide receivers coach Brent Brennan said, “He is the best practice player I’ve ever coached and he takes everything so seriously. Every rep, every opportunity to improve”. Cooks was born with natural speed, but countless hours of work and training have made them who he is today, and he will continue to work at the next level.

Cooks was originally a UCLA commit but switched to Oregon State because “it was a great fit for me, I’m surrounded by respectable people and a great coaching staff”. Cooks knew even in high school that it’s all about putting yourself in the right situation to succeed and he found that at Oregon State.

Draft Outlook:

Height: 5'10

Weight: 186

40 time: 4.49

Before the year Cooks was a smaller name in a wide receiver class highlighted by Sammy Watkins, Marqise Lee and Mike Evans. But Cooks took over college football in 2013 and really put his name on the map with a breakout season that has led him to enter the draft and leave school early.

Cooks set career-highs all across the board in his junior season and really displayed his speed, route-running and strong hands. He torched Pac-12 defenses this year with his ability to create separation from defensive backs with crisp routes, and then securing the ball and creating a big play with his speed. The Beavers used Cooks in a variety of roles this year, working on punt returns, taking reverses and of course dominating as a wide receiver.

While he doesn’t have the size or physicality to be a number one wide receiver at the next level, Cooks is perfectly matched to pair with a guy like Calvin Johnson or Dez Bryant. While opposing defenses focus on stopping Johnson with double coverage, Cooks will torch single coverage and get open quickly. His ability to come in immediately and have great knowledge of how to run clean routes will help him have an impact right away.