Rich Rodriguez thought he was bringing in a running back when Cam Cook came out of the transfer portal last winter. Eight months later, West Virginia’s coach seems convinced he got something bigger than that.
Cook has impressed the staff not just with what he can do with the ball, but with the way he carries himself inside the program. Veteran offensive line coach Rick Trickett, back in Morgantown for his third stint with the Mountaineers, has become one of Cook’s biggest believers after watching him closely at Jacksonville State last season, when Cook piled up an FBS-best 1,659 yards for the Gamecocks.
Trickett’s history with West Virginia adds another layer here. His second run with the program in the early 2000s lined up with the start of the Mountaineers’ most successful stretch, a period that featured Avon Cobourne, Quincy Wilson and Steve Slaton.
Around the program, Cook is viewed as more of a Cobourne type - a comparison that says plenty. Cobourne finished his career with a school-record 5,164 yards, which still ranks 16th in NCAA history.
That kind of talk is why Cook has become such a name to watch heading into the season opener against Coastal Carolina.
“He's what West Virginia football is all about,” the veteran coach recently said of the Round Rock, Texas, resident. “He's what you want sitting in this room.
If we had everybody playing and sitting in this room going to do what he does to win, we'll be in great shape. He's a great guy; a great football player.”
Cook said the fit with Rodriguez made sense as soon as he started sorting through his options.
“I just took a look at all the past schools he's been at and how he ran the ball and then him having coach Trickett coaching the O-line before and then coming back now … just knowing what kind of offense he was going to run, it really fit my play style,” he said.
He also pointed to the work ethic around the program as a major reason he landed in Morgantown.
“One of the things that sold me most is how hard people work here,” Cook added. “If we're going to run the ball, it's hard-edge and we're going to be tough.
Everybody is going to do whatever they can to win. You can tell the environment here is different, and that meant a lot.”
Cook said the money side of choosing a power conference program wasn’t the only thing on his mind. He framed the decision around development and what comes after college.
“I was really trying to be somewhere where I know I can advance my playing style and better myself to get to the next level,” Cook admitted. “Being at West Virginia, I felt like this was the best place for me to do that.”
The comfort level has only grown since then. Cook said the spring, summer work and now fall camp have helped him settle in.
“I'm really comfortable with the offense, just being able to go through spring and then get in a little bit of work during the summer and now that we're into fall camp,” he said.
He’s also one of a handful of West Virginia players on preseason watch lists, a sign that people outside the building have noticed him. Cook said that recognition matters, but only to a point.
“It definitely means something to me,” he offered. “Last year, I wasn't on any watch lists, but I'm not really looking at it in any particular way.
“I just want to do whatever will help us win as a group, and I feel like (the individual accolades) will come along,” he said. “If I'm trying my hardest, that stuff will happen on its own.”
For Cook, preseason camp has been about finding the right balance: getting enough work to be ready without beating himself up before a season that will demand plenty from him. West Virginia has eight straight games before its open weekend on Saturday, Oct. 31, which means a long stretch of football once the season starts.
That doesn’t sound like a reason for Cook to back off.
“It’s not like I'm withholding myself from anything,” Cook explained. “I'm going to practice however I need to practice, and I do think a running back needs to get a decent amount of hits before the season starts so my body can be ready to take that amount of hits.”
He also believes West Virginia has enough depth in the backfield to keep things moving when he needs a break. Freshman Amari Latimer has drawn praise for the way he’s progressed, while Martavious Boswell and Chris Talley give the room more speed.
“We've definitely got a couple of dogs in our room,” Cook said. “(Freshman) Amari (Latimer) has come a long way.
He's further along and he's shown that he can definitely handle the load. And he's got the size for it.
We've got some speed backs too like (Martavious) Boswell and Chris Talley, so just being able to have different looks and show the defense different things, I think we'll be a very diverse backfield.”
That group also includes junior Arizona transfer Kayden Luke, the fullback nicknamed “Cowboy” by the Mountaineer coaches and players. Cook said he has a special appreciation for Luke because he played fullback as a freshman in high school.
For Cook, that experience changed the way he sees the position.
“Having someone willing to put his face in the fan means a lot, so you know he's going to be willing to go out there and try his hardest to make sure the team wins,” he said.
Trickett’s view of Cook matches the rest of the picture.
“(He is a) really good guy; a really good team guy,” Trickett said. “It's not a me-or-an-I guy. He'll do anything he has to do to help us win - a good person and I think a really damn good football player.”
West Virginia completed its 11th practice of fall camp earlier today on the Steve Antoline Family Practice Field. With fall classes starting Tuesday, the team will move to afternoon practices for the rest of the month.
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