Commitment Spotlight: Shadow Creek LB Terrence Cooks

[Tristan Larsen 43]

It’s been a tumultuous month for Texas football, particularly in the recruiting arena. A month ago, five-star athlete, Billy Bowman flipped from Texas to Oklahoma. Bowman was a centerpiece of the 2021 class for Texas and his decommitment was a huge blow. It got worse however as a few weeks later, Texas not only lost four-star 2022 wide receiver Phaizon Wilson but five-star quarterback Quinn Ewersas well.

Quinn Ewers is widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect not only in the class of 2022 but in recent memory as well. While it will be hard to replace him and others along the way, Texas got back on track today as they landed a commitment from star Shadow Creek linebacker, Terrence Cooks.

Cooks is a four-star outside linebacker via the 247Sports Composite. He’s the 20th ranked outside linebacker in the 2021 class and the 46th ranked player in the state of Texas. Cooks as a junior accumulated 72 tackles, two for a loss, and caused three fumbles. Shadow Creek in 2020 has made the move to 6A and in five games thus far Cooks has 24 tackles, one for a loss, and one sack.

The Longhorns already got their toes wet with state champion Shadow Creek talent when they locked down 2020 safety Xavion Alford. Now they get his teammate in Cooks.

Cooks had 37 offers ranging from Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and even Alabama. In July he announced his top-six via his Twitter of Baylor, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, and Washington. But, ultimately, he becomes commit number 18 for Texas’ 2021 recruiting class.

Player Information

Name: Terrence Cooks
Position: Outside Linebacker
High School: Shadow Creek
City, State: Pearland, TX

Measurables

Height: 6’2
Weight: 210
Film

Three Best Traits

Speed – Cooks is like a heat-seeking missile when he comes after the ball carrier. On film, he consistently chases down receivers and running backs who should have been breaking away for a touchdown. When Cooks is on the field he chases them down every time. At the linebacker position, Cooks is a rare breed in terms of speed.

Winning Culture – Cooks spent his junior season with the Shadow Creek Sharks. A team that went 16-0 including defeating Denton Ryan in the 5A D1 State Championship. Cooks comes from a winning culture and has already played in the biggest games at the High School level. 

Intelligence – Cooks holds a 3.8 GPA going into his senior year. He is a workhorse when it comes to the books as well as on the field. This high IQ translates to his football IQ, and when you watch the film Cooks is always in the right place at the right time.

Areas for Improvement

Adversity – Since its inception Shadow Creek has been a dominant football program and one of the states finest. Of their 16 games last season, only three were within one possession. Cooks and company usually played with a heavy lead and in no real danger of losing. This has changed a little this season as since the Sharks made the jump to 6A, they’re now 3-2. Yet, their three victories are all shutouts. How will he respond when Texas finds themselves down late or early in a ball game?

Pass Coverage – Meeting the running back at the line of scrimmage or getting loose around the edge to get to the quarterback has become clockwork for Cooks. One area for him to improve in his senior season in pass coverage. He absolutely has the speed to keep up with short/intermediate crossing patterns and just needs more experience in that area.

Summary

Cooks is a lightning-quick linebacker who can do it all on the field for Texas. He’s superb at meeting the ballcarrier at the line of scrimmage as well as pressuring the quarterback consistently. He’s a highly intelligent ballplayer from a winning program who should help Texas’s defense immediately. Cooks joins fellow four-star prospect, Morice Blackwell, as the second linebacker to commit to Texas’s 2021 class.

Final Verdict

Texas signed only two linebackers for the 2020 class. Three-star Jaylan Ford and four-star Prince Dorbah. The signings of Cooks and Blackwell provide tremendous depth for a position that Texas has been lacking in. It’s no secret that this has been a tough season for the Longhorns. This was supposed to be their year to break out of the Big-12. Not only are they still meddling near the middle of the pack, but recruiting has flipped on its head as well. This commitment comes at a critical time as Texas is showing that through adversity they can still land top-level prospects to come play in Austin. Cooks is a prospect that offers the Longhorns’ defensive unit a ton of upside and should be a viable starter in their front-seven for years to come.

[Baron 1,297]

Has a nice motor. And speed to match.

[Aaron Carrara 2,767]

Yeah this is a big get for Texas and a timely commitment.  Cooks is the real deal.

[Sirhornsalot 13,090]

Puts recruiting back on track.

[tejasrulz 2,893]

So we keeping Herman now? Asking for a friend 

[primal defense 3,913]

On 11/15/2020 at 10:32 AM, tejasrulz said:

So we keeping Herman now? Asking for a friend 

It means were keeping Ash. He will be the DC under either Herman or Meyer.

[oldhorn2 1,197]

22 hours ago, primal defense said:

It means were keeping Ash. He will be the DC under either Herman or Meyer.

Primal...this just follows the subject of your post.....not meant against you as we see this same thing in many posts from many posters.....

 

However....for a bunch of folks that dont seem to have any inside info on anything, we sure seem to know a lot about everything.....

[primal defense 3,913]

17 minutes ago, oldhorn2 said:

Primal...this just follows the subject of your post.....not meant against you as we see this same thing in many posts from many posters.....

 

However....for a bunch of folks that dont seem to have any inside info on anything, we sure seem to know a lot about everything.....

You don't need inside info when you have headlines like this.

 

 

Texas coach Tom Herman takes on Urban Meyer speculation, job rumors

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/big12/2020/11/17/texas-football-coach-tom-herman-takes-urban-meyer-speculation/6323895002/