NFL Draft results 2016: Raiders select Connor Cook

Connor Cook is the most decorated passer in this year’s draft class, but he didn’t receive nearly the same amount of hype as many of his counterparts. That’s par for the course.

The Oakland Raiders selected Cook with the No. 100 pick, moving up ahead of the Dallas Cowboys, to bet that the winningest quarterback in Michigan State history will carry over his collegiate success to the pros. Given Cook’s consistency over the last three seasons in the Spartans’ pro-style offense, he has an impressive track record to build upon.

Cook’s career at Michigan State didn’t start with a lot of fanfare. Coming out of Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, he was redshirted as a freshman. Unlike other quarterbacks in power conferences, Cook wasn’t pegged for superstardom the moment he walked onto campus. Before he succeeded on the field, he first needed to figure out how to review film.

“I didn’t know what a Cover Zero or Cover Two was,” Cook told the Detroit Free Press’ Mitch Albom in an interview last year. “We didn’t watch film in high school, so I didn’t know how to break it down. The speed with which the college game was played, and how guys like Kirk Cousins were so accurate on every ball he threw. I was in awe. In practice, the ball wouldn’t touch the ground.

“I looked at Kirk and said, ‘Man, I have a lot to do if I ever want to start one game here.’”

Outside of a relief appearance during the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, in which he completed 4 of 11 passes for 47 yards, Cook was largely stapled to the bench during his first two years at Michigan State. He was slated to be a backup once again heading into the 2013 campaign, but then started in place of the struggling Andrew Maxwell in Week 2. Cook never looked back.

That season, Cook, who stands at 6’4 and weighs 220 pounds, threw for 2,755 yards and found the end zone 22 times. He led the Spartans to a 34-24 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship, throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns in an MVP effort. Cook was also named offensive MVP of the Rose Bowl to close out the year after passing for 332 yards and two touchdowns in Michigan State’s 24-20 win against Stanford.

Cook built on his performance during his junior campaign and also began to set the tone for the team on the field. In an October game against Michigan, for example, he bulldozed through a defender before igniting a scuffle between the two rivals.

Cook finished his season with 3,214 passing yards to go along with 24 touchdowns and eight picks. The Spartans went on to pull off a 20-point comeback win in the Cotton Bowl, defeating Baylor 42-41.

Though he could have been a first- or second-round draft pick had he come out then, Cook opted to stay at Michigan State for his senior season, saying he had “unfinished business” he wanted to accomplish. Even after winning the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl in consecutive years, it was clear Cook was gunning for a championship.

Despite that commitment, Cook wasn’t chosen to be a team captain heading into last year. He said at the combine it didn’t deter him from being a strong voice in the locker room.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people about it. We had a great group of leaders that were seniors,” Cook said. “We had a leadership council of 12 guys, and they would pick, each and every week, a different guy in that council, which I was in, to be a captain. I was selected for four games. Usually only guys get selected once throughout the season.

“If you ever want to ask any one of my teammates ... ask them if I was a team leader, if I was a leader of that team, and they would say yes.”

Cook responded to the apparent slight with aplomb, but questions still persisted about his makeup. In December, an anonymous NFL scout questioned his work ethic, saying he “likes being a celebrity.”

Those doubts would seem to be unfounded, considering the way Cook was able to develop during his time under head coach Mark Dantonio. Cook threw for over 3,000 yards as a senior with 24 touchdown passes while leading the Spartans to an upset win over Michigan and another Big Ten title. Michigan State earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, but lost 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl to eventual champion Alabama.

The questions surrounding Cook are almost purely intangible, as he has the prototypical build of an NFL quarterback and a career 34-5 record as a starter. Judging by that resume, he seems to have as good a shot as any quarterback in this draft to succeed at the professional level.

Oakland ended a surprising fall for Cook, who was projected by some to crack the back half of the first round, but instead had to wait for the third day while other quarterbacks like Cody Kessler and Jacoby Brissett surprisingly went ahead of the Michigan State passer.