A very intense feeling of focus is what senior quarterback Connor Cook described as being in the zone.
Being in the zone, hot, an intense feeling of focus — call it what you want to call it, but Cook is one of, if not the, best quarterback in the NCAA right now.
In the Spartans’ 52-26 win over Indiana on Saturday, Cook was lights out.
The senior had career highs in completions, yards and touchdowns — going 30-for-52 for 398 yards and four touchdowns.
“I think I’ve been saying it over and over throughout the fall, he’s got a great deal of experience, he’s won at a very high level,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “The guy is 31-3 as a quarterback right now. That’s unbelievable. There can’t be too many people out there that have that type of record. He’s used to being successful, so he has confidence.”
It wasn’t just the statistics, though. Cook was making throws in this game very few collegiate quarterbacks can make. Several of Cook’s throw were “NFL throws.”
He threaded the needle, split defenders, put back shoulder throws where only his receiver could get them and hit several deep balls perfectly down the sideline.
“I don’t think I have thrown as many as I have today,” Cook said. “But in my mind I felt like I was on the money and felt like the ball was coming out of my hand well.”
When the Spartan running backs couldn’t get anything going, Cook finally did what many thought he could all season long — air it out and put the team on his back.
“Obviously, Connor has done great things for us throughout the years,” co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said. “What it does for us it gives us, it gives us a chance for big plays all the time. On a day like today, when we were not running the ball obviously as well as we would like to, we were able to sort of ask him to put the team on his shoulders and carry us really for three quarters, and he had help from the wide receiver position.
“Connor has been money. He’s played good for years around here, but the last two weeks, I think he’s been phenomenal.”
What I saw in Connor Cook, especially on Saturday against the Hoosiers, is an NFL quarterback.
If Cook keeps playing the way he is he will be a top-10 pick in the next NFL draft.
"(His skills) are NFL-type level from what I know,” Dantonio said. “The NFL quarterbacks that we’ve had here, I would say he’s right there with those guys. He’s got a great touch, he’s got great arm strength, he’s got a very quick release, and he’s big.”
Cook is already the winningest quarterback of all time at MSU. On Saturday he set a MSU single-game record with 416 total yards against and finished three yards away from breaking the single game passing record.
His 64 career passing touchdowns are good for second all-time at MSU, but he could very well break former Spartan Kirk Cousins’ record of 66 in the next game.
At the level Cook is playing, if the Spartans can get healthy during the bye week, the sky is the limit for MSU.
