the
Holiday
issue
A
sk Brandin Cooks, the New Orleans Saints rookie wide receiver speedster, about football or
Michael Jackson (his favorite musician), and there is no shortage of words. But unlike some
people who can recall big family meals or fabulous dishes their mom or grandmother might
have made, when asked about his childhood mealtime memories, the young man hesitates.
“I can’t say that anything comes to mind,” says Cooks. “Like most people, Thanksgiving was always a
big day, with delicious turkey and yams, I remember how good the yams always were, but nothing
else stands out.”
Born and raised in Stockton, California, Cooks was six years old when his father died
of a heart attack, leaving his mother, Andrea, to raise her four sons on her own. Cooks
is the youngest of the four. Andrea was already working at a shipping and receiving
warehouse and had to take on a second job at an after-school program. Dining out
at restaurants was not a part of the family plan and mealtimes were lean.
Despite the hardship, Cooks excelled on the athletic field. As a young man,
his goal was to be the best athlete he could be, on a mission to play college
football and dreaming of a day when he would make it to the NFL. He attended
Lincoln High School in Stockton, where he ran track and became a national
talent playing wide receiver for the Trojans’ football team. He was offered multiple
scholarships from NCAA Division 1 programs, committing to the Oregon State
Beavers.
At Oregon State, he continued to enjoy great success on the gridiron, and by the
end of his junior season he had become a 2013 consensus All-American and
winner of the 2013 Fred Biletnikoff Award, presented annually to the most
outstanding receiver in American college football. He was also a standout on
the Oregon State track team.
He opted out of his senior season, entering the NFL draft, and was selected
in the first round by the New Orleans Saints.
A NEWHOME
Since arriving in NewOrleans, Cooks has been on a tight schedule. Joining
the team after completing his junior year, he spent his first weeks with the
team at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, where the team held part
of its summer training camp. He has since settled into a place in Uptown
New Orleans with his dog, Scout, a Golden Retriever.
This is not his first time living on his own, however, as he had a place
of his own while attending Oregon State in Corvallis. And while the
team had a food table, he cooked a lot for himself. Cooks describes his
diet as fairly strict, wanting to keep his 5-foot-10, 189 pound body in
peak physical shape.
“I have a pretty decent kitchen, but I haven’t had a chance to cook yet,”
says Cooks. “I try to keep a healthy mindset.”
The Saints have a cafeteria at the team’s training facility on Airline
Drive in Metairie, where players can avail themselves of breakfast and
lunch during the season, and three meals a day during training camp
and mini-camps. Coach Sean Payton has designed a health conscious
cooks cooks
by
Mary Beth Romig +
photos by
Frank Aymami
