Inside The Huskies

UW Fresh Start (No. 5): Cook Poised To Be Secondary Leader

The sixth-year senior is one of the Husky defense's most experienced players.
Dan Raley|
UW Fresh Start (No. 5): Cook Poised To Be Secondary Leader
UW Fresh Start (No. 5): Cook Poised To Be Secondary Leader

Alex Cook started for the first time as a redshirt freshman wide receiver in the 2019 Rose Bowl.

In his career, the sixth-year senior safety collectively has 13 starts for the University of Washington football team, tied with Asa Turner for the most among all defensive returnees.

Last season, Cook opened nine times before and after a scare in the Arizona desert. Bringing that stadium to a concerned hush, he was left prone on the ground after a collision, was strapped tight to a stretcher, placed on a cart, driven off the field to a waiting ambulance and transported to a Tucson hospital.

He missed the next game while in concussion protocol and returned to the action.

If it's not obvious by now, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound defensive back from Sacramento is a tough, versatile athlete who will be heavily counted on to help put the Husky defensive unit back together after a down season.

"Sacrifice your body, glorify your soul," Cook said memorably last season, even before his harrowing moment.

Recently, new Husky leader Kalen DeBoer disclosed how limited video footage exists for some of the Husky players he inherited, making it difficult for the new head coach and his staff to adequately assess all of the returning talent up and down the roster.

Less than two months to spring practice, we're offering any insight we might have in a series of stories on every UW scholarship player from No. 0 to 99. We'll review each Husky's starting experience, if applicable, and provide a logical timeline for him in earning a future first-team assignment or simply retaining one.

As is the case with any coaching change, it's a new football start for everyone, including  the Huskies' No. 5.

Elijah Molden and Alex Cook celebrate a comeback win over Utah in 2020.

Alex Cook swats down an Arkansas State punt.

Alex Cook makes an open-field tackle at Michigan.

Alex Cook is left prone at Arizona after he was injured in a collision.

Medical personnel move Alex Cook to a waiting cart. 

Alex Cook is carted off the field at Arizona.

Alex Cook dives at the feet of Arizona State QB Jayden Daniels.

Cook pulled nine starts last fall, more than double that of any other safety. He came off the bench for the Montana opener, entered the lineup as a starter for six outings, missed the Stanford game immediately following his concussion exit at Arizona, subbed into the Oregon game and finished out as a first-teamer.

Fairly reliable, he ranked as the Huskies' fourth-leading tackler with 46, trailing three linebackers. He had a tackle for loss, a pass break-up, an 36-yard interception return against Arizona State and a blocked punt against Arkansas State.  

Cook was one of seven players who rotated in and out as starters at one of the safety spots, with Turner the next closest to him with four starting assignments.

He'll be somebody to build around as less experienced players show up at the other safety spot, both cornerback roles and the new Husky hybrid safety/linebacker position. 

If nothing else, Cook can share with the rest of his teammates what it was like to face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. He's one of just three players still on the UW roster who got on the field against the Buckeyes that day, along with offensive tackle Henry Bainivalu and kicker Peyton Henry.

UW Starter or Not: Cook is definitely a first-teamer after starting three of four games at safety in 2020 and those secondary-high nine outings last fall. Vast experience comes at a premium for DeBoer's first Husky team, especially on defense. Plus he showed he can take a hit.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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