The Texas Longhorns were in dire need of some good news on the recruiting trail, which came on Saturday as Shadow Creek (Pearland) linebacker Terrence Cooks announced his commitment to the Longhorns.
UT HERE I COME pic.twitter.com/3gFsHrlPeA
— “COOKIE ” (@ii_cooks) November 14, 2020
Cooks, a four-star linebacker for the defending state champions, was a needed addition for the Longhorns, with the lack of depth at the linebacker position currently. Texas was the just the fourth school - and the first in the state of Texas - to offer Cooks, which proved beneficial throughout the process.
He was seen as a Texas lean throughout most of his recruitment, but a late offer from the LSU Tigers added additional drama to the process. Cooks picked Texas from a final group that included the Texas A&M Aggies, Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners.
The No. 302 player overall and the No. 46 player in the state of Texas, Cooks becomes the second linebacker in the 2021 group, joining Morice Blackwell in the class.
Analysis ( By: Daniel Seahorn)
At 6’2, 210 pounds Cooks is an athletic, high effort player who shows the ability to play both on and off the ball at linebacker. Cooks’ athleticism is one of the first thing that jumps out at you on his tape, as he shows off in pursuit that he can really run and that he is comfortable playing in space. Cooks plays off the ball quite a bit on tape and he shows the ability get into coverage drops down the field as well as being up stick with his assignments in man. With Cooks heading to the Big 12, his potential to be able to stay on the field on all three downs increases his value within the defense and raises his overall ceiling as a player. When lined up on the LOS, Cooks shows he can be handful for opposing tight ends to block on the edge, as he uses his hands well to defeat blocks and disrupt plays. Cooks is solid, wrap up tackler who does a good job of wrangling ball carriers and getting them to the turf. Does a solid job of getting down hill and taking on blockers but will run around blocks from time to time. As mentioned earlier, Cooks plays with good effort from snap to snap and displays a good motor on tape. Consistently shows he will not give up on plays and is shown tracking down ball carriers several times way down the field on explosive plays. Gives great effort on special teams and has been able to get his hands on several punts when asked to go after the punter. That kind of effort will endear him to his coaches and teammates, and it would not surprise me if he is able to carve out a role running down on kicks early in his collegiate career.
Demarvion Overshown’s development over the course of the season has been one of the most encouraging storylines for me and leads me to believe that Coleman Hutzler has his position group trending in the right direction and that a guy like Cooks and Morice Blackwell will be maximized once they hit campus. Hutzler has done a really good job during his short time on campus and it is showing up both on and off the field for the Longhorns.