Elijah Stephen Cooks (born October 13, 1998) is an American football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nevada Wolf Pack before transferring to the San Jose State Spartans and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jaguars after the 2023 NFL draft.
| No. 14 – Jacksonville Jaguars | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 13, 1998 Santa Maria, California, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Atascadero (Atascadero, California) |
| College: | Nevada (2017–2021) San Jose State (2022) |
| Undrafted: | 2023 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |
Early life edit
Born in Santa Maria, California, Cooks grew up there and initially attended St. Joseph High School, where he played football and basketball.[1][2] Midway through his tenth grade year, Cooks moved to Atascadero and transferred to Atascadero High School.[3]
As a senior at Atascadero in 2016, Cooks tallied 56 catches for 966 yards and 15 touchdowns, winning the Pac 5 Offensive Player of the Year award.[4]
College career edit
Nevada edit
Cooks committed to play football for the University of Nevada at Reno on February 1, 2017.[5] He chose Nevada over Hawaii, Wyoming, Fresno State, and San Jose State, the team he later played for.[6]
In five seasons at Nevada from 2017 to 2021, Cooks had 115 receptions for 1,478 yards and 18 touchdowns.[1] Having played 35 games from 2017 to 2019, Cooks sat out all of 2020 due to a shoulder injury.[6][7] In 2021, Cooks played in three games before a season-ending injury.[6]
Cooks also briefly joined the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team in the 2017–18 season as a temporary replacement for an injured player.[3] Cooks played four games, averaging one minute per game.[8]
San Jose State edit
After five years with Nevada, Cooks moved on to San Jose State University as a graduate transfer.[9] It's at San Jose State where he had his most productive year, garnering selection to the first-team All-MW.[10]
College statistics edit
| Season | Games | Receiving | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||||
| Nevada Wolf Pack | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2018 | 11 | 22 | 348 | 15.8 | 6 | 1 | 40 | 40 | 1 | |||||
| 2019 | 13 | 76 | 926 | 12.2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2021 | 3 | 13 | 157 | 12.1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| San Jose State Spartans | ||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 12 | 69 | 1076 | 15.6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Career | 42 | 184 | 2554 | 13.9 | 28 | 1 | 40 | 40.0 | 1 | |||||
Professional career edit
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m) |
219 lb (99 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
4.51 s | 1.62 s | 2.65 s | 4.25 s | 7.10 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) |
10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
16 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[11] | ||||||||||||
After not being drafted in the 2023 NFL draft, Cooks signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent on May 1, 2023.[12][13][14] On August 29, 2023, the Jaguars announced that he had made the initial 53-man roster.[15][16][17]
References edit
- ^ a b "Elijah Cooks". San Jose State Spartans. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "Elijah Cooks (St. Joseph, Santa Maria, CA)". Maxpreps. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Bailey, Joe (March 21, 2018). "March Madness: Nevada's Elijah Cooks goes from Santa Maria to Sweet 16". Santa Ynez Valley News. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Gibson, Travis (February 1, 2017). "Signing day: Atascadero's Cooks signs with Nevada, Poly women's soccer nabs local pair". The Tribune. San Luis Obispo. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "Elijah Cooks". 247 Sports. CBS Sports Digital. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Elijah Cooks – Football (WR)". NevadaWolfpack.com. University of Nevada at Reno. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ Murray, Chris (December 4, 2020). "Saturday is senior night for the Nevada football team. Or is it?". Nevada Sports Net. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Cumulative Statistics". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ Reyna, Lorenzo (December 15, 2021). "SJSU adds Nevada star WR Elijah Cooks via transfer on NSD". 247 Sports. CBS Sports Digital. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ "Football All-Mountain West Teams and Superlative Awards". Mountain West Conference. August 5, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Elijah Cooks College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ Oehser, John (May 1, 2023). "The 2023 Offseason: Undrafted Free Agents Bring Rookie Class to 23". Jaguars.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
- ^ "SJSU's Elijah Cooks Signs with the Jacksonville Jaguars". San Jose State Spartans Athletics. April 30, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Reyna, Lorenzo (April 29, 2023). "San Jose State WR Elijah Cooks signs with Jacksonville Jaguars". 247sports.com. CBS Sports Digital. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
- ^ Oehser, John (August 30, 2023). "Elijah Cooks Makes Jaguars 53-Man Roster As Lone Collegiate Rookie Free Agent". Jaguars.com. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Oehser, John (August 29, 2023). "The 53: Breaking Down the Roster". Jaguars.com. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Shipley, John (August 29, 2023). "Jaguars Announce First Major Wave of Cuts: Elijah Cooks, 9 Other Rookies Make Team". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 29, 2023.