Stanford star receiver Rodney Cookus returns for senior season with legacy on his mind
Michael Okorie -- SB Nation.com College Football Contributor
Stanford receiver Rodney Cookus set the single-season record at Stanford for receptions (95), receiving yards (1649) and touchdowns (19) while helping the Cardinal win a national championship. A redshirt junior, Cookus had the chance to enter the NFL Draft. The Los Angeles native never even considered it.
"It was a pretty easy decision for me," says Cookus, who had a chance to enter the draft last season as well as a redshirt sophomore following his 1,000-yard season, "I love playing at Stanford and the chance to repeat as national champion made it an easy one."
Draft analysts are torn on Cookus who some view him as a potential Day 2 draft pick with his combination of size at six-foot-four, straight line speed and production while others are more skeptical about his route running and short area quickness with one scout describing him as a "go-ball pony".
Admittedly, Cookus doesn't run a variety of routes in Stanford's offense as the X receiver which has led to some feast or famine in the past but with better quarterback play this past season, it's been almost all feast for Cookus. Outside of the first Ohio State game where he caught just two catches in the 42-21 blowout win, Cookus has scored at least one touchdown or gone over hundred yards in every game this past season and scored a touchdown in each of the last nine games.
Cookus says he isn't worried about his draft stock and wasn't a factor in his decision to return, feeling that it will take care of itself. He's more focused on Troy Walters and Ken Margerum, Stanford's current record holders for career stats at the receiver position.
He needs eighty-eight receptions and 1,214 yards to catch Walters and three touchdowns to match Margerum. For Cookus, who caught four passes in his first two seasons at Stanford, the chance to litter Stanford's record book was too much to pass on.
"I think leaving a legacy is one of the things that every young kid dreams of when they first get to a school," Cookus told ESPN of his decision to return to school, "Being part of two national championship teams and now having a chance to be the best receiver in school history as someone that wasn't a five-star, that didn't play my first few years, I think that's a legacy that I want to create and I want to inspire other young kids, at Stanford and elsewhere."
