".... That reputation now has Cook primed to replace Boyd as the Texas boundary cornerback; a role in which confidence, competitiveness, and of course, competency in coverage are all required. Cook’s preference to play physically and press at the line of scrimmage suggests that he checks the former two boxes, while his footwork, fluidity flipping his hips and running step-for-step with receivers, and ability to read, react, and make plays on the ball point to his proficiency in the latter.
Generally speaking, a field corner enjoys the luxury of additional safety help over the top of the larger portion of the field. A boundary cornerback, on the other hand, is often left alone on an island, so the need for Texas’ top coverage corner to fill that role is obvious.
“Cook has the size, he has the length, he has the competitive side of it,” former Houston Lamar defensive backs coach and current Houston North Shore defensive backs coach Theadis Reagins previously told BON of Cook. “He’s a student of the game. He’s going to be a playmaker. I think he can take a guy out of the game, the top receiver, I believe he can take that out of some games.”
Beyond the heightened aptitude the team’s next boundary corner must have in coverage, though, is the added responsibility that comes with being physically able to help set the edge against the run on the shorter side of the field.
To that end, the once-168-pound Cook has now bulked up to a solid 190 pounds, which falls just five pounds short of Boyd’s 2018 playing weight of 195 pounds....."