Update on James Cook

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“He’s electric, he’s a little different than what we have so we want to find ways to get him the ball,” Smart said. “I think he’s a lot more mature now.”

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D’Andre Swift will start for Georgia and get the lion’s share of the carries provided he stays healthy, but Cook is in the mix for carries himself as well as catches and returns.

Smart was concerned about Cook in spring drills, noting he looked a bit sluggish and not up to full speed coming off ankle surgery.

Things changed over the summer.

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“James has bulked up a little bit, he’s gotten a little bigger, he’s very intelligent he’s a guy we’ve got to find ways to get him the ball.” Smart said. “There’s going to be a great competition there, because we know it’s hard to play more than three backs, and we’ve got some good backs, so we’ve got to find ways to get those guys touches.

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“Cook has got to become a more dominant special teams player.”

Cook’s skills as a pass catcher were obvious last season.

But it’s what he does in the open field — regardless of how he gets the football — that sets him apart.

“A couple of runs in practice he broke on us on defense,” Taylor said, “and I was like, ‘wow, this kid is fast.’ “


“It just changes the game, it changes the pace,” Rochester said. “I think when you look at him, he looks a lot faster than all those boys and moves a lot quicker, and it’s a different type of style that we haven’t seen yet.”

The comment about his lack of catching the ball last season makes me wonder if Kirby made Cook sleep with the ball during off season.


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