4: James Cook lived up to the hype
Going into the game, James Cook was a name we just kept hearing about. Players, coaches, and reporters kept talking about Dalvin’s younger brother. He’s apparently even earned a nickname in Athens; ‘little’.
Well, his play was anything but little yesterday. Cook had six carries for 66 yards and showed real explosion whenever he was given the chance. With even the slightest amount of space, Cook exploited any gap and found ways to create something out of nothing. Watching him run away from players is really quite something.
Cook was ejected for a targeting penalty in the second half in a move that I was not particularly happy with. It was a ‘bang bang’ football play but I didn’t think that Cook deliberately attempted to hurt the returner. Still, that’s going to be an issue for the Dawgs because Cook looked like he should have a big impact in 2018. The Dawgs now have to play the entire first half against the Gamecocks without Cook and that’s not something Kirby Smart will be happy about.
Cook will get more touches over the coming weeks. He clearly showed that he needs to see the same 10-15 touches a game that D’Andre Swift got last season. I wouldn’t be shocked if he ended up breaking 1000 yards and 8 TD’s when the season is over. He looks special and it’s crazy to think how much he flew under the radar until just a few weeks ago.