Kerry Cooks History:
Year School Assignment
2003 Kansas State Graduate Assistant
2004 Western Illinois Defensive Backs/Asst. Special Teams
2005 Minnesota Defensive Backs
2006-09 Wisconsin Defensive Backs
2010 Notre Dame Outside Linebackers
Important Facts:
-Strong Safety at Iowa. 5th round draft choice who lasted 4 years in the NFL.
-In first season at UW, helped the Badgers lead nation in pass efficiency defense and second in nation in passing yards per game (138.3).
- Developed 10 All-Big Ten honorees during his time at UW.
Cook's Memorable Quotes About Coming:
- "This is a place to me, that growing up as a kid in Texas, you watched Notre Dame or Michigan. You had to be a Longhorns fan as well, but it's a very prestigious, historic place. As a coach, when I think about coming here, guys have worked their whole career and never had an opportunity to play or coach at an elite program. When I think about the opportunity to come to Notre Dame, this is the pinnacle of college football."
- "The opportunity to come and work with the front seven, a different position, and get to know and learn intrigued me. It will be good for me as far as learning the front seven because I've always been a back seven guy."
- "I had an opportunity to work with (Notre Dame Head) Coach (Brian) Kelly for about seven days as a young coach. I had just left Western Illinois and was 28 or 29 years old. I was looking to move up and got the job offer to go to Central Michigan when he was there. The first thing that stood out to me was his personality. I was very aware that you can find someone in that short time frame that was magnetic. I think the people and the fans here at Notre Dame will be able to see that, but that was the thing that attracted me to him. He's a very honest guy, a very genuine guy and a very passionate guy."
- "Bobby Diaco. 'Baby Blue' is what we call him. Bob is a guy that I've always looked up to. I remember when I came in as a freshman (at Iowa), Bob was a starting middle linebacker for us. I had no clue about leadership or any of the intensity or passion or any of that stuff. Here I am, an 18-year-old kid going to Iowa, which at the time was a pretty big-time program and still is. I had an opportunity to see how Bobby managed a defense. He was a leader. He was our team captain."
- "Obviously, with being in coaching, I've learned the fine points and being detailed in the nuances of any position you coach is important. My players can expect me to get deep into their lives. I want to know them outside of just being a player because I need to understand what makes those guys tick: their backgrounds, what motivates them, all those things. Not in an intrusive way, but I want those guys to know the door is always open. I may be their coach, but I also want to let them know that they've got a shoulder here. "
- "I'm pretty even-keel. I try not to get too high or too low. I will get in a face or two every now and then, but obviously with all the things going on in college football, my personality is not to put hands on players or anything like that. I do like to be aggressive. I'm a guy that's going to look at the pros and cons of whatever the situation is and try to stay even-keel and use a level-head to make any decision I need to make."
- "I've had the good fortune of being able to go down and recruit Texas for the last seven years. I've built a lot of relationships and we've had a lot of previous success at other places I've been. I think anyone who knows college football understands that Texas is a hotbed, along with Florida, California and some of the East Coast states, but it's a tremendous place. It's an honor for me to go down there representing Notre Dame and re-connect with those relationships that I've built over the last seven years. Having that "ND" on your chest is going to open up a lot more doors that I didn't have an opportunity to do at previous programs."
Interesting about he and Diaco at Iowa. That makes sense now. I bet it was Diaco who made a big push for him, although obviously Kelly liked him as well as he hired him back at Central.
Year School Assignment
2003 Kansas State Graduate Assistant
2004 Western Illinois Defensive Backs/Asst. Special Teams
2005 Minnesota Defensive Backs
2006-09 Wisconsin Defensive Backs
2010 Notre Dame Outside Linebackers
Important Facts:
-Strong Safety at Iowa. 5th round draft choice who lasted 4 years in the NFL.
-In first season at UW, helped the Badgers lead nation in pass efficiency defense and second in nation in passing yards per game (138.3).
- Developed 10 All-Big Ten honorees during his time at UW.
Cook's Memorable Quotes About Coming:
- "This is a place to me, that growing up as a kid in Texas, you watched Notre Dame or Michigan. You had to be a Longhorns fan as well, but it's a very prestigious, historic place. As a coach, when I think about coming here, guys have worked their whole career and never had an opportunity to play or coach at an elite program. When I think about the opportunity to come to Notre Dame, this is the pinnacle of college football."
- "The opportunity to come and work with the front seven, a different position, and get to know and learn intrigued me. It will be good for me as far as learning the front seven because I've always been a back seven guy."
- "I had an opportunity to work with (Notre Dame Head) Coach (Brian) Kelly for about seven days as a young coach. I had just left Western Illinois and was 28 or 29 years old. I was looking to move up and got the job offer to go to Central Michigan when he was there. The first thing that stood out to me was his personality. I was very aware that you can find someone in that short time frame that was magnetic. I think the people and the fans here at Notre Dame will be able to see that, but that was the thing that attracted me to him. He's a very honest guy, a very genuine guy and a very passionate guy."
- "Bobby Diaco. 'Baby Blue' is what we call him. Bob is a guy that I've always looked up to. I remember when I came in as a freshman (at Iowa), Bob was a starting middle linebacker for us. I had no clue about leadership or any of the intensity or passion or any of that stuff. Here I am, an 18-year-old kid going to Iowa, which at the time was a pretty big-time program and still is. I had an opportunity to see how Bobby managed a defense. He was a leader. He was our team captain."
- "Obviously, with being in coaching, I've learned the fine points and being detailed in the nuances of any position you coach is important. My players can expect me to get deep into their lives. I want to know them outside of just being a player because I need to understand what makes those guys tick: their backgrounds, what motivates them, all those things. Not in an intrusive way, but I want those guys to know the door is always open. I may be their coach, but I also want to let them know that they've got a shoulder here. "
- "I'm pretty even-keel. I try not to get too high or too low. I will get in a face or two every now and then, but obviously with all the things going on in college football, my personality is not to put hands on players or anything like that. I do like to be aggressive. I'm a guy that's going to look at the pros and cons of whatever the situation is and try to stay even-keel and use a level-head to make any decision I need to make."
- "I've had the good fortune of being able to go down and recruit Texas for the last seven years. I've built a lot of relationships and we've had a lot of previous success at other places I've been. I think anyone who knows college football understands that Texas is a hotbed, along with Florida, California and some of the East Coast states, but it's a tremendous place. It's an honor for me to go down there representing Notre Dame and re-connect with those relationships that I've built over the last seven years. Having that "ND" on your chest is going to open up a lot more doors that I didn't have an opportunity to do at previous programs."
Interesting about he and Diaco at Iowa. That makes sense now. I bet it was Diaco who made a big push for him, although obviously Kelly liked him as well as he hired him back at Central.
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