Dalvin Cook is a professional American football player. He plays as a running back for the Minnesota Vikings and joined the National Football League (NFL) in 2017. Even though Cook was a highly rated running back in college before being drafted into the league, some fear that he may not be able to play up to expectation due to injury concerns and off-field legal issues. Find out more about Cook here including his NFL career, girlfriend, body stats etc.
Early Life
Dalvin James Cook was born on the 10th of August 1995 in Opa-Locka, a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He had his high school education at Miami Central High School where he was an excellent multi-sport athlete, lettering in football and track. Due to off-field issues, Cook only started playing football from his 2nd season in school but still managed to have an impressive playing time.
As a high school senior, he led his team to emerge victorious in the Class 6A state championship, rushing 177 times for 1,940 yards and 34 touchdowns. Following his exploits, USA Today named him in the All-USA football team, 247Sports named him an All-American (2nd team) and also rated him the No.2 RB in the country while the Florida Dairy Farmers Association conferred on him the Mr. Florida Football Award. Unsurprisingly, Cook was courted by several top colleges including the likes of Clemson University and the University of Florida but he finally settled for Florida State
College and NFL Career
Dalvin Cook played college football at Florida State from 2014 to 2016, breaking several records in the process. In his freshman year, he proved to be worth all the hype, rushing 170 times for 1008 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. He also had 22 receptions for 203 yards.
He did even much better in his sophomore season, rushing 229 times for 1691 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. He also racked up 24 receptions for 244 yards and 1 touchdown. In doing so, Cook broke the school’s record for most rushing yards in a season which was previously 1242 set by Warrick Dunn. He was named the best running back in the country by the Touchdown Club of Columbus.
The 2016 season was equally another record-breaking time for Cook. He had 288 carries for 1765 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns with 33 receptions for 488 yards and 1 touchdown. His 1765 rushing yards brought his career total at Florida State to 4464 making him the school’s all-time leading rusher. He surpassed the previous record of 3959 yards set by Warrick Dunn.
Buoyed by his incredible exploits, Cook decided to declare for the NFL draft a year earlier. He entered the 2017 NFL draft and was picked in the 2nd round by the Minnesota Vikings as the 41st overall that year. The Vikings signed him to a four-year contract worth $6,353,334 including a guaranteed sum of $3,514,395.
Cook started four games in his rookie season (2017) and rushed for 354 yards (74 carries) and two touchdowns before suffering a torn ACL which ended his season. Despite the injury setback, he set a Vikings franchise record for most rushing yards by a rookie in the first 3 games (288 yards) breaking a ten-year record set by Adrian Petersen (271 yards) in 2007.
Family – Meet The Mom and Brother
Dalvin Cook comes from a family of eight which includes dad, James cook and mom Varondria Burnett. His parents are however divorced. Other members of the family are his elder brother Deandre, younger brother, James and younger sisters Daneisha, Jamiya, and Jameisha. Also in the picture is Cook’s beloved paternal grandmother, Betty Cooks. He moved in with her when he was just 13 and his guidance helped make him the man he is today.
It seems that athletics naturally runs in the family genes as Cook is not the only outstanding player in his house. His elder brother Deandre is a good basketball player. He is a point guard and plays college football for the University of Mississippi. He will be eligible to take part in the 2019 NBA draft. On the other hand, James is a highly rated running back just as his immediate elder brother. He was courted by several top colleges as well but he finally committed to play for the University of Georgia.
See Also: Kirk Cousins Wife, Net Worth, Height, Weight, Bio, NFL Career
His Girlfriend
The last we heard, Dalvin Cook is in a relationship with Jacquilla Morris. She was his high school sweetheart at Miami Central High School. They welcomed a son, named Dalvin Cook Jr. in 2018. Not much has been revealed about the duo but being that there are no rumors making the rounds about them, we can assume fairly accurately that the relationship between the two is going on fine and might possibly see them walk down the aisle at the right time.
Height and Weight
Cook is 5 feet 10 inches tall or 1.78m and weighs a respectable 210 pounds or 95kg. He has a good stature for the position which he plays. Added to this is his vision, speed and a darting style of running which enables him loose unwary defenders easily.
