Fred Cook (1979) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Fred Cook

Induction:
1979

Fred Cook is best remembered as one of the best pass rushers in the history of Southern Miss football. From his defensive end position Cook caused more havoc in opposition backfields as perhaps any player in school history.
   Cook was the perfect defensive end and one that could accomplish his mission in more ways than one. If he wanted to Cook had the brute strength just to bowl over an opposing blocker and fight his way to the passer or ball carrier. If he wanted to he could put a move on you as good as any receiver or runner and slip by as the blocker never laid a hand on him. Or if he wanted to he could use his great knowledge of the game to read the offense and position himself in the right place at the right time to make a play.
   As one of the first African-American players in school history, Cook is also given credit for the ease that the integration of the school and the football program was accomplished and his popularity led him by his senior year to be named Mr. USM.
   Cook came to Southern Miss from Our Lady of Victory High School in Pascagoula, Mississippi. After a season on the freshman team, he began to make some noise during spring drills of 1971 and wound up as the starter at defensive end when the season began.
   Immediately Cook established himself as one of the school’s best when he finished among the team’s leaders in tackles with 68 and a school record 18 quarterback sacks. That 1971 team finished the year with a 6-5 record and the Golden Eagle defense was good enough that year to record three shutouts.
   Cook was the only member of the defensive front four returning for the 1972 season, but as usual he was ready to shoulder the load. He recorded 19 quarterback sacks that season, while finishing second on the team in tackles with 122. The team would struggle to a 3-7-1 record that year but Cook had established himself as one of the best defensive players in the country.
   Cook found more and more during the 1974 season that he was being double-teamed as the opposition tried to slow him down and keep him from getting to the quarterback. It didn’t help as Cook just kept right on coming as he finished fourth on the team in tackles with 67 and was once more the team leader in quarterback sacks. The team would finish 6-4-1, but the last six opponents that year would average just over eight points a game against the Cook led defense.
   Cook would earn third team All-American honors for his play in 1973 in addition to being named first team all-South Independent in 1972 and 1973.
   He played in the Senior Bowl and the Blue-Gray game and was drafted in the second round (32nd pick overall) by the Baltimore Colts in the 1974 NFL draft. Cook would play for the Colts from 1974 to 1980