The Oakland Raiders executed a trade with the Cleveland Browns to move up in the 4th round of the 2016 NFL Draft and select Michigan State QB Connor Cook.
• 2015 JOHNNY UNITAS GOLDEN ARM AWARD WINNER• 2015 BIG TEN QUARTERBACK OF THE YEAR• 2015 FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG TEN• THREE-YEAR STARTER HAD A 34-5 (.872) CAREER RECORD• MSU'S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST QB • FINISHED HIS CAREER AS MSU'S ALL-TIME LEADER IN TD PASSES (71), PASSING YARDS (9,194) AND TOTAL OFFENSE (9,403 YDS)• FINISHED TIED FOR NINTH IN 2015 HEISMAN TROPHY VOTING• 2015 MANNING AWARD FINALIST• 2015 CHICAGO TRIBUNE SILVER FOOTBALL FINALIST (BIG TEN'S BEST PLAYER)• 2015 DAVEY O'BRIEN & MAXWELL AWARD SEMIFINALIST
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CAREER NOTES:** Three-year starter finished his career as the winningest quarterback in school history with 34 victories (34-5 overall record, 23-2 vs. Big Ten opponents, 21-2 in Big Ten regular-season games, 2-0 in Big Ten Championship Games, 2-1 in bowl games) . . . the 34 wins are fourth most in Big Ten history and tied for 25th in NCAA FBS history by a starting quarterback . . . surpassed Kirk Cousins for the most wins by a Spartan starting QB in school history in the Purdue game in Week 5 of the 2015 season (Cousins had a 27-12 record from 2009-11) . . . tied a school record with 39 starts (Cousins, 2009-11) . . . in 43 career games, completed 58 percent of his passes (673-of-1170) for 9,194 yards, 71 touchdowns and 22 interceptions . . . finished his career as the school-record holder for most touchdowns passes (71), passing yards (9,194), total offense (9,403 yards) and pass attempts (1,170) . . . tied for first in MSU history in 300-yard passing games (10) and 200-yard passing games (26) . . . also ranks among MSU's all-time leaders in passing yards per game (second at 213.8 ypg.), pass completions (third with 673), passing efficiency (fourth with 139.8 rating) and pass completion percentage (10th at .575) . . . finished his career ranked seventh in Big Ten history in touchdown passes with 71 . . . tied a school record, shared with Cousins and Drew Stanton, by throwing for a touchdown pass in 16 straight games (streak started vs. Illinois on Oct. 26, 2013 and was snapped at Maryland on Nov. 15, 2014) . . . started a school-record 36 consecutive games at quarterback (streak began on Sept. 7, 2013 vs. South Florida and ended on Nov. 21, 2015 vs. Ohio State) . . . had two winning streaks which rank among the longest by a Spartan starting quarterback in school history (12 from Nov. 15, 2014 to Oct. 24, 2015 is second longest; 11 from Oct. 5, 2013, to Aug. 29, 2014 is third longest; record: Al Dorow, 15 in 1950-51) . . . led the Spartans to a 5-2 record against AP Top 10 teams and an 8-4 mark vs. AP Top 25 teams . . . led the Spartans to six fourth-quarter comeback victories (2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl vs. TCU; 2013 vs. Ohio State in Big Ten Championship Game; 2014 Rose Bowl vs. Stanford; 2015 Cotton Bowl vs. Baylor; 2015 vs. Michigan; 2015 vs. Iowa in Big Ten Championship Game) . . . three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection earned his bachelor's degree in media and information in December 2015.
CAREER IN BOWL GAMES: Along with Dan Enos, was one of only two Spartan quarterbacks to win two bowl games as the starting QB (Cook: 2014 Rose, 2015 Cotton; Enos: 1989 Aloha, 1990 Sun) . . . also came off the bench to lead the Spartans on a game-winning drive in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against TCU . . . closed his career with several Spartan bowl records, including most passing yards (903), passing attempts (128), pass completions (69), passing touchdowns (5) and total offense (875 yards) in four games, including three starts (2-1 record) . . . led the Spartans to three straight fourth-quarter comebacks in bowl games (2012 Buffalo Wild Wings vs. TCU; 2014 Rose vs. No. 5 Stanford; 2015 Cotton vs. No. 4 Baylor) . . . completed 19-of-39 passes for 210 yards in his final collegiate game against No. 2 Alabama in the 2015 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl; with an 18-yard completion to Josiah Price in the third quarter, became MSU's all-time leader in passing yards . . . completed 24-of-42 throws for 314 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic win over No. 4 Baylor . . . the 314 passing yards were the fourth-highest single-game total in Cotton Bowl and MSU bowl history . . . the 24 completions (second) and 42 pass attempts (third) rank among the top single-game bowl totals in Spartan history . . . in the fourth quarter, connected on 9-of-15 passes for 179 yards, including scoring strikes of 8 yards to Price and 10 yards to Keith Mumphery, in leading MSU's 20-point comeback win . . . named 2014 Rose Bowl Game Offensive MVP after completing 22-of-36 throws for a then-career high 332 yards and two TDs in the win over No. 5 Stanford . . . came off the bench to complete 4-of-11 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl victory over TCU; on MSU's final drive of the game, was 2-of-5 passing for 26 yards while leading the Spartans on an eight-play, 45-yard scoring drive, capped by Dan Conroy's game-winning 47-yard field goal with 1:01 remaining that put MSU ahead for good in the 17-16 win.
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2015 SEASON (SENIOR):** Completed 56 percent of his passes (229-of-408) for 3,131 yards and 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions . . . finished among MSU's single-season leaders in touchdowns (tied for second with 24, tying a career high), pass attempts (fourth with career-high 408), passing yards (fourth with 3,131), pass completions (fifth with career-high 229) and passing yards per game (fifth with 240.8 per game) . . . named recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented annually since 1987 to the nation's top college quarterback . . . is just the second Big Ten quarterback (Wisconsin's Scott Tolzien in 2010) to win the Unitas award . . . became first Spartan quarterback to win the Greise-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year Award since its inception in 2011, and was also the first Spartan QB be named first-team All-Big Ten since Steve Juday in 1965 and only the fifth ever in school history (Earl Morrall, 1955; James Ninowski, 1957; Dean Look, 1959; Juday, 1965) . . . also named first-team All-Big Ten by The Associated Press, Athlon Sports, BTN.com, ESPN.com and Phil Steele . . . finished tied for ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting, becoming the first Spartan to finish in the Top 10 since Javon Ringer in 2008 (10th); also became just the fourth Spartan quarterback to finish in the Top 10 and the first since 1965 (Juday, 1965, 6th; Look, 1959, 6th; Morrall, 1955, 4th) . . . SI.com honorable mention All-American . . . Chicago Tribune Silver Football finalist (Big Ten's best player/one of three) . . . Manning Award finalist . . . semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and Maxwell Award (college player of the year) . . . Academic All-Big Ten selection for the third year in a row . . . finished ranked No. 6 in ESPN.com's 2015 final Big Ten player rankings . . . ranked among the Big Ten leaders in touchdown passes (second with 24), passing (third with 240.8 ypg.), total offense (third with 245.2 ypg.) and passing efficiency (fifth with 136.6 rating) . . . established a school record by throwing for more than 300 yards in four consecutive games (367 vs. Rutgers; 328 vs. Michigan; career-high 398 vs. Indiana; 335 vs. Nebraska) . . . the four 300-yard passing games were tied for second most in an MSU single season (record: Smoker with six in 2003) . . . had eight 200-yard passing games, tied for fifth most in an MSU single-season . . . in Big Ten games, averaged 270.3 passing yards per game . . . completed 19-of-39 passes for 210 yards in his final collegiate game against No. 2 Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl; with an 18-yard completion to Josiah Price in the third quarter, became MSU's all-time leader in passing yards . . . became the first player in Big Ten history to win the Grange-Griffin Big Ten Championship Game Most Valuable Player Award twice (also won in 2013 vs. Ohio State) as he helped lead the Spartans past No. 4 Iowa, 16-13, to claim MSU's second Big Ten title in three years; completed 16-of-32 passes for 191 yards against the Hawkeyes, including a key 16-yard strike to Aaron Burbridge on third-and-8 during the game-winning touchdown drive . . . on that same drive, which lasted 22 plays and went 82 yards in 9:04, also rushed 2 yards for a first down on fourth-and-2 from the Iowa 5-yard line with 1:59 remaining that set up LJ Scott's 1-yard game-winning TD run with 27 seconds left . . . it marked Cook's sixth fourth-quarter comeback for the Spartans . . . connected on 19-of-26 throws for 248 yards and three touchdowns against Penn State on Senior Day in his final appearance at Spartan Stadium; completed passes to seven different receivers, including TD strikes of 29 yards to R.J. Shelton, 29 yards to Burbridge and 6 yards to Price . . . with 243 total yards vs. PSU, set MSU's career record for total offense (previous record held by Cousins, 2008-11); became the school's all-time leader in total offense with his 16-yard completion to Shelton early in the fourth quarter . . . named Spartan Offensive Player of the Week vs. Penn State . . . had his school-record streak of 36 consecutive starts at quarterback come to an end as he sat out the game at No. 2 Ohio State (shoulder) . . . saw limited action in the first half vs. Maryland due to a shoulder injury and sat out the second half for precautionary reasons; had his 12-game streak with a passing touchdown come to a close and was 6-of-20 passing for 77 yards and one interception . . . tied a career high with four touchdown passes at Nebraska to set a Michigan State career record, passing Cousins . . . completed 23-of-37 passes for 335 yards and one interception along with his four TDs, and set a school record with his fourth straight 300-yard passing game; his 335 passing yards were the most ever by a Spartan QB against Nebraska . . . named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week after setting a school record with 416 yards of total offense and throwing for a career-high 398 yards in Michigan State's 52-26 win over Indiana . . . also set career highs for pass completions (30) and pass attempts (52) against the Hoosiers and tied his career best with four touchdown passes . . . produced some of the top single-game passing totals in school history against the Hoosiers: completions (tied for sixth with 30), pass attempts (sixth with 52), passing yards (second with 398) and TD passes (tied for second with 4); the 398 passing yards were just two shy of MSU's single-game record (Bill Burke, 400, vs. Michigan in 1999) . . . his effort against the Hoosiers was also named one of the "Great Eight" performances of the week by the Davey O'Brien Award . . . became just the second Spartan starting quarterback to defeat Michigan three consecutive times (Cousins, 2009-11) in MSU's 27-23 triumph at Michigan Stadium in Week 7; threw his 60th career touchdown pass with a 30-yard pass to Macgarrett Kings Jr. in the third quarter and completed 18-of-39 passes overall for 328 yards, marking his eighth career 300-yard passing game . . . threw for 367 yards -- the fifth-highest single-game total in school history -- while completing 24-of-39 passes for two touchdowns and one interception in the win at Rutgers; with the scored tied at 24 with 4:16 to play, engineered a 10-play, 76-yard game-winning touchdown drive to give MSU the 31-24 victory; was 2-of-3 passing for 39 yards on the drive, including a 29-yard third-down completion to Shelton . . . his showing against the Scarlet Knights was named one of the "Great 8" performances of the week by the Davey O'Brien Award . . . became the winningest quarterback in school history in the victory over Purdue, surpassing Cousins' previous record of 27; was 13-of-19 passing for 139 yards and one TD, and also rushed for a career-high 48 yards on five carries (9.6 avg.) against the Boilermakers . . . completed 11-of-19 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown against Central Michigan . . . matched his career high with four touchdown passes and completed 15-of-23 throws for 247 yards against Air Force . . . was 20-of-32 passing for 192 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the victory over No. 7 Oregon . . . named fourth game captain against the Ducks . . . threw two touchdowns and completed 15-of-31 passes for 256 yards in the season opener at Western Michigan.
2014 SEASON (JUNIOR): Earned second-team All-Big Ten honors (coaches and media) for the second year in a row . . . became first Spartan quarterback to garner back-to-back second-team All-Big Ten laurels . . . also a second-team All-Big Ten pick by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele . . . named one of 20 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award (collegiate player of the year) and one of 16 semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award . . . offensive recipient of MSU's Outstanding Underclass Back Award . . . Academic All-Big Ten selection for the second straight year . . . ranked first in the Big Ten in passing (247.2 ypg.) . . . ranked second in the NCAA FBS in passing yards per completion (15.2) . . . ranked second in the Big Ten and 19th in the FBS in passing efficiency (149.4 rating) . . . also ranked among the Big Ten leaders in passing yards (first with 3,214), touchdown passes (second with 24), total offense (third with 253.4 ypg.) and completion percentage (sixth at .581) . . . also had two rushing TDs . . . ranked among MSU's single-season leaders in TD passes (second with 24), passing yards (third with 3,214 yards), passing yards per game (third with 247.2 ypg.), 200-yard passing games (tied for third with 10), passing efficiency (fifth with 149.4 rating), pass attempts (sixth with 365) and pass completions (ninth with 212) . . . recorded his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season and sixth of his career, completing 24-of-42 throws for 314 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Cotton Bowl Classic win over No. 4 Baylor . . . the 314 passing yards were the fourth-highest single-game total in Cotton Bowl and MSU bowl history . . . with 314 passing yards against the Bears, became just the fifth QB in Spartan history to eclipse the 6,000-yard career milestone . . . the 24 completions (second) and 42 pass attempts (third) rank among the top single-game bowl totals in Spartan history . . . in the fourth quarter, connected on 9-of-15 passes for 179 yards, including scoring strikes of 8 yards to Josiah Price and 10 yards to Keith Mumphery, in leading MSU's 20-point comeback win . . . led the Big Ten in conference games in passing (257.9 ypg.) . . . threw for at least 200 yards in seven of eight Big Ten games . . . completed 13-of-25 throws for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception at Penn State . . . recorded his seventh straight 200-yard passing game (254 yards) while completing 16-of-24 throws for two touchdowns vs. Rutgers . . . had 240 passing yards on 14-of-31 throws at Maryland; had his school-record 16-game streak with at least one touchdown pass come to an end against the Terrapins . . . threw for a then career-high 358 yards on 25-of-45 throws in the loss to No. 14 Ohio State . . . fired two touchdown passes vs. OSU (15 yards to Mumphery, 16 yards to Price) to tie a school record with 16 straight games with at least one touchdown pass . . . completed 12-of-22 throws for 227 yards and one TD in MSU's second straight win over Michigan . . . completed 24-of-32 passes for 332 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the 56-17 victory at Indiana; was named a "Star of the Week" by The Manning Award . . . threw three touchdown passes and was 19-of-37 passing for 238 yards at Purdue . . . was 11-of-29 passing for 234 yards, one touchdown (55 yards to Tony Lippett) and one interception vs. No. 19 Nebraska . . . in limited action for the second straight game, threw two touchdown passes on 8-of-12 throws for 126 yards against Wyoming; also had a 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal during the game's first series . . . in limited action, completed 5-of-6 passes for 83 yards and two TDs vs. Eastern Michigan; also had three carries for 11 yards, including a 4-yard TD run against the Eagles . . . had season highs for completions (29) and pass attempts (47) while throwing for 343 yards at No. 3 Oregon; had two touchdowns and two interceptions against the Ducks . . . completed 12-of-13 passes (.923) for 285 yards and three touchdowns, including TD throws of 71 and 64 yards to Lippett, in the season opener vs. Jacksonville State.
2013 SEASON (SOPHOMORE): Posted a 12-1 record as the starting quarterback . . . named second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches . . . honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by the media . . . also earned All-Big Ten accolades from ESPN.com (second team) and Athlon Sports (second team) . . . Academic All-Big Ten selection . . . completed 59 percent of his passes (223-of-380) for 2,755 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions . . . ranked among MSU's single-season leaders in touchdown passes (tied for third with 22), pass attempts (fourth with 380), total offense (fifth with 2,831 yards), passing yards (sixth with 2,755), pass completions (tied for sixth with 223) and passing yards per game (15th with 196.8 ypg.) . . . ranked among the Big Ten leaders in touchdown passes (tied for second with 22), pass completions (third with 223), passing yards (fourth with 2,755), passing (fifth with 196.8 ypg.), total offense (sixth with 202.2 ypg.) and passing efficiency (eighth with 135.5 rating) . . . tied for the fewest interceptions (6) among starting Big Ten quarterbacks . . . finished No. 20 in the Big Ten postseason player rankings by ESPN.com . . . was presented the 2013 Collegiate Athlete of the Year Award at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards . . . recipient of MSU's Outstanding Underclass Back Award (offense) and Tommy Love Award (most improved player: offense) . . . ranked fourth in conference play in passing (213.5 ypg.) and sixth with 12 TD passes . . . produced eight 200-yard passing games, tying for fourth most in an MSU single-season, and two 300-yard passing games . . . named Offensive MVP of the 100th Rose Bowl Game after completing 22-of-36 passes for a season-high 332 yards, two touchdowns and an interception as MSU defeated No. 5 Stanford . . . also named to ESPN.com Big Ten All-Bowl Team . . . his 25-yard pass to Lippett at the 13:22 mark in the fourth quarter put MSU on top 24-17 and proved to be the game-winner in the 24-20 victory . . . had a 2-yard TD toss to Trevon Pendleton in the closing seconds of the second quarter . . . connected on seven passes of at least 20-plus yards against the Cardinal, including a game-long 60-yarder to Bennie Fowler in the third quarter . . . named Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Championship Game after throwing for 304 yards on 24-of-40 passing with three touchdowns and one interception in leading the Spartans past No. 2 Ohio State . . . delivered TD passes of 72 yards to Mumphery, 33 yards to Lippett, and 9 yards to Price . . . named ESPN.com Big Ten Player of the Week (Dec. 7 vs. Ohio State) . . . his showing against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game was listed as the No. 2 individual performance in the Big Ten during the 2013 season by ESPN.com . . . completed 10-of-20 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Minnesota . . . threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-23 passing in win at Northwestern that clinched the Big Ten Legends Division title; his 87-yard TD completion to Fowler in the second quarter tied for the fourth-longest reception in school history . . . was 15-of-31 passing for 193 yards and a touchdown in win at Nebraska; was 8-of-14 for 133 yards on third down against the Huskers . . . completed 18-of-33 throws for 252 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Michigan; his 14-yard TD strike to Fowler in the back, right corner of the end zone with 23 seconds left in the first half gave Michigan State the lead for good at 13-6; also rushed for a 1-yard score against the Wolverines . . . went 15-of-16 passing for 208 yards and three TDs at Illinois; his .938 completion percentage established a school single-game record (minimum 10 completions) and is the seventh best in Big Ten history . . . finished the Illinois game with 11 straight completions for 185 yards . . . threw a 47-yard TD pass to Mumphery in the fourth quarter; also connected on a 29-yard TD pass to Fowler and a 13-yard TD pass to Price . . . completed 13-of-25 passes for 107 yards in win over Purdue . . . hit 22-of-31 throws for 235 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, against Indiana; threw TD passes of 11 yards to Jeremy Langford and 34 yards to Fowler in the second quarter; completed passes to 11 different receivers total against the Hoosiers . . . completed 25-of-44 passes while throwing for 293 yards in road win at Iowa in his first Big Ten start; threw two touchdown passes (46 yards to Macgarrett Kings Jr., 37 yards to Fowler) against the Hawkeyes . . . the 277 passing yards were the second most by a Spartan QB against Iowa . . . completed 16-of-32 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown at No. 22 Notre Dame . . . recorded his first career 200-yard passing game in the win over Youngstown State, throwing for 202 yards and a career-best four touchdown passes; became the first Spartan QB to throw four TD passes in a game since Brian Hoyer against Penn State in 2007 . . . tied a Michigan State record by throwing four TDs in the first half (Drew Stanton vs. Illinois in 2005; Bill Burke vs. Iowa in 1999) . . . threw TD passes of 13 yards to Andre Sims Jr., 12 to Pendleton, 24 to Kings and 17 to Fowler . . . also finished with 227 total yards (202 passing and 25 rushing) against the Penguins . . . was 6-of-11 passing for 32 yards in leading MSU to a win over South Florida in his first career start at quarterback.
2012 SEASON (RED-SHIRT FRESHMAN): Back-up quarterback appeared in three games (Central Michigan, Iowa, TCU) to earn his first letter . . . completed 9-of-17 throws for 94 yards, one touchdown and one interception . . . came off the bench to complete 4-of-11 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown in the 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl victory over TCU . . . capped a 14-play, 90-yard drive with his first career TD pass, a 15-yard strike to Aaron Burbridge late in the third quarter; the 14-play, 90-yard scoring march marked MSU's longest touchdown drive of the season and its longest in bowl history . . . on MSU's final drive of the game, was 2-of-5 passing for 26 yards while leading the Spartans on an eight-play, 45-yard scoring drive, capped by Dan Conroy's game-winning 47-yard field goal with 1:01 remaining that put MSU ahead for good in the 17-16 win . . . was 5-of-6 passing for 47 yards and one interception in his collegiate debut at Central Michigan . . . also saw brief action vs. Iowa . . . gained valuable experience during spring practice and took most of the reps with the No. 1 offense after starter Andrew Maxwell suffered a sprained knee in mid-April . . . played for both teams in the Green-White spring game, completing 20-of-45 passes for 294 yards and a touchdown.
2011 SEASON: Redshirted . . . named Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week vs. Minnesota.
HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: Threw a 28-yard touchdown pass for the Ohio All-Stars in the 2011 Big 33 Classic in Hershey, Pennsylvania . . . also completed a 26-yard TD pass in the April 22 Ohio North-South Classic in Columbus . . . ranked among the nation's top pro-style quarterbacks by MaxPreps.com (No. 9) and Rivals.com (No. 13) . . . listed among the Midwest's top prospects by SuperPrep (No. 90) . . . also named to PrepStar's All-Midwest Team . . . ranked among Ohio's top seniors by Rivals.com (No. 30) . . . two-year starter for Coach Gerry Rardin at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio . . . Associated Press All-Northeast Inland District (Division II) first-team selection as a senior . . . named team's Most Valuable Offensive Back after accounting for 2,143 total yards and 20 touchdowns in 2010 . . . completed 116-of-199 throws (.583) for 1,700 yards, 15 TDs and seven interceptions as a senior . . . rushed 79 times for 443 yards (5.6 avg.) and five scores in 2010 . . . accounted for a career-best 317 total yards and five TDs in the season finale at Toledo Bowsher, connecting on 16-of-24 passes for 267 yards and four TDs plus rushing four times for 50 yards and a score in a 55-0 victory over the Rebels . . . hit 14-of-28 tosses for 201 yards and a score plus added a rushing TD in the 2010 season opener vs. Louisville . . . produced 1,303 total yards and 11 TDs as a junior . . . completed 77-of-161 throws (.478) for 1,160 yards and nine TDs . . . also carried 33 times for 143 yards (4.3 avg.) and two scores . . . son of Chris and Donna Cook . . . father played football at Indiana (tight end; lettered 1982-84) . . . mother Donna played basketball at Cincinnati . . . sister Jackie played basketball at Old Dominion . . . born Jan. 29, 1993 . . . majoring in media and information.
