Elijah Cooks may not have heard his name called during the 2023 NFL Draft, but his skill set was enough to win over one franchise in the league. And Cooks is trekking to a familiar place for San Jose State fans and football fans from his home region.
The towering 6-foot-4 wide receiver from Atascadero (Calif.) is heading to the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent, which became official on Saturday following day three of the draft.
The Jags back in 2019 took in another 805 region and past SJSU star in tight end Josh Oliver (Paso Robles). Furthermore, Cooks once played at St. Joseph High in Santa Maria during his underclassmen years – which is the prep alma mater of Jaguars franchise legend quarterback Mark Brunell.
Cooks was an immediate impact presence in his lone season in the Silicon Valley. He snatched 69 receptions for 1,076 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. His only 1,000-yard, double-digit touchdown campaign came with the Spartans as he reunited with his former wide receivers coach at Nevada Eric Scott.
Before catching his first pass with SJSU in a live game, Cooks previously told InsideTheSpartans.com: “Having E. Scott here has made the transition easy. He’s a live character but he’ll be straight up with you always. And that’s what we need, honestly. He’s a person who will tell you how it is and tell you what we need to do to win football games.”
He also connected with two NFL Spartans when he completed his transfer – one of them Oliver himself.
“Yeah, for sure. The moment I committed, the first two people to really hit me were Josh Oliver and Bailey Gaither. They were the first two who told me ‘Good luck and go out there and go crazy,’” Cooks said. “I’ve had a soft spot for the Spartans for a long time.”
Speaking of the Wolf Pack, Cooks played five seasons in Reno and went on to collect 115 career receptions for 1,478 yards and crossed the end zone 18 times playing for former Nevada head coach Jay Norvell.
Cooks is heading to a wide receiving unit that produced two 80-catch wide receivers in Christian Kirk (84 grabs) and Zay Jones (82 catches). Jacksonville ranked 10th in passing yardage last season while snatching the AFC South title.Elijah Cooks may not have heard his name called during the 2023 NFL Draft, but his skill set was enough to win over one
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