In all the excitement of about 90% of Kentucky starting post Dead Period preparation for the upcoming KHSAA football season, a compelling story line has developed virtually unnoticed. Our top OLB in Kentucky’s 2020 prospect class has pushed his announcement date from the 12th of July, which has come and gone as of the date this article’s being published, to July 18.
We were unable to get up with either Grayson Cook or his dad, Mark, to determine the reason for the delay. According to what the prospect has published online, the delay is owing to his being out of town and his desire to commit in front of the hometown folks.
All of that is certainly understandable and even expected from a Cook. We say that because both of Grayson’s parents are proud Pond-Creekers and Mark also played his prep football at the CAM.
Grayson, who has before been featured on KPGFootball numerous times and rightfully, has registered 40-yard dash times for KPGFootball in the low 4.5s. We clocked his pro-agility shuttle (5-10-5) at 4.30 seconds and his L-cone at 6.5 seconds, the fastest time at our combine with Isaac Dixon (2021) attending the same one.
As for how Cook’s game would translate to college, any defense aligned in a 3-4 as a base defense relyies heavily on versatility in the linebacker corp. That is Cook’s strong suit.
Grayson, as an OLB, makes plays as an edge defender out of the stand-up, two-point stance while also possessing the ability to rush off the edge, close the formation, or hold the point versus the strong-side run much like what is wanted from college DEs. Grayson is a player possessing the ability to make plays as a cutback defender, and also displays the athleticism to drop in coverage.
Grayson has shown consistently in high school he is able to drop into coverage and take away the 10-15 yard out with his speed and length, while still possessing the closing speed to get to the swing and screen pass, or the sweep or stretch in the outside ground game. Grayson was awarded Top Honors by our combine for his position and was one of the best pure athletes we saw on the Mountain.
In 2018, while missing two games with an ankle injury, Cook tied for third on the team in tackles with 86, collected 5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and registered an interception. Grayson was 42 of 46 in PATs, and kicked a couple of field goals. Grayson also handled the punting duties where he averaged 43 yards per punt-attempt, all for which he was selected to the AP’s All-State Football team.
Grayson is also one of Kentucky’s very best pure athletes in the 2020 class. Grayson has a 32 inch vertical, a 9’10” broad jump, a 19’6″ long-jump, and 40-foot triple jump, the latter two of which he registered competing on the Belfry Track & Field team. Grayson is also a student carrying a 3.6 GPA in advanced placement classes with a 25-ACT whose also being recruited to the Ivy League by teams like both Cornell and Yale.
For a big-time college football prospect at either the OLB or DE positions, Grayson’s frame couldn’t be better. Grayson is 6’4″ tall, with an 80-inch reach, and weighs 220-pounds.
So where will Grayson attend? Is his pushing the announcement date bad for Air Force? Does it mean there are suitors pressuring him to delay his announcement in the hopes of making up ground with this prospect? While all of that could be true, in this instance, we don’t think so.
KPGFootball is relatively sure Grayson Cook will announce his commitment to the Air Force Academy on the 18th of July. From what we know, as close to the Cook family as this magazine is, we believe Grayson has “shut it down” and is politely rejecting any and all overtures from other schools to get in the door with him, 11th hour.
This is clearly a prospect that, if you are a school which has been slow-walking him, you simply waited too long. Your gamble he would still be available when you were ready for him seems to have “crapped-out.”
Oh well, win some, lose some…
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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