Virginia Signee: Malcolm Cook

Malcolm Cook
Position: Defensive Back
Hometown (School): Richmond, VA (Fork Union Military Academy)
Height/Weight: 6'1'' 200 lbs
Committed to Virginia: 7/21/12
Lead Recruiter: Jim Reid

Just six months ago, Malcolm Cook was a little-known Richmond area football player, just looking for his first scholarship offer. Cook, who transferred from Armstrong High to Fork Union Military Academy for his senior season, earned an offer from UVa in late July, and jumped on it. The 6'1'' 200 lb Cook will be a defensive back for the Cavaliers. Cook is rated a 4-star prospect by 247sports and a high 3-star prospect by Rivals. Like several other prospects in Virginia's 2013 class, Cook considered taking other visits and potentially decommitting from Virginia after the coaching staff shakeup in December. In the end, Cook stuck with the team who offered him first.

Malcolm Cook is a fantastic athlete, who had a tremendous season in the secondary as a senior. Cook had 15 interceptions as a senior, returning 5 for touchdowns. The Fork Union star also forced 7 fumbles on the season against private school competition. Those type of gaudy offensive numbers don't happen at the high school level very often. At Armstrong, Cook was his team's best athlete, and played quarterback there. At Fork Union, he was able to play for a great coaching staff and perfect his craft as a defensive back. At Virginia, Cook's ability to find and take the football will be a huge asset to Jon Tenuta's blitz-happy aggressive defense.

The Virginia staff may have found themselves a gem in Cook. Since committing to Virginia, Cook has seen his offer list blow up, with schools like Penn State, Miami, NC State and TCU coming after him. After seeing how his season went and his explosive film, its easy to see what they saw at that camp in the Summer. If fact, the Cavalier staff is apparently really high on Cook's potential, and his ability to play early. Don't be surprised to see Cook make an impact on defense and special teams as a freshman.

Malcolm Cook Highlights, 2012 VIS Division 1 Championship (via TheSabreHoos)