Kyle Cook (American football)

Kyle Cook (born July 25, 1983) is a former American football center in the National Football League (NFL). He was a member of the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. Cook played college football at Michigan State University.

Early life

Kyle Cook is the son of Thomas and Nancy Cook; he has a sister, Sarah. Cook played high school football at Dakota High School in Macomb, Michigan. He was a PrepStar All-American, ranked among the nation's top 60 offensive linemen by TheInsiders.com (No. 54) and named to SuperPrep's All-Midwest Team after being rated among the region's top 60 prospects (No. 55). He was listed among the state's top seniors by the Lansing State Journal (No. 14), The Detroit News (No. 20) and Detroit Free Press (No. 23) and named to the Detroit Free Press Dream Team and The Detroit News Class A All-State Team. Cook was selected to The Detroit News All-Metro Team and earned All-Metro East recognition from both The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press. He was a three-year starter for coach Mike Giannone at Dakota. Cook also lettered in basketball and track.

College career

Cook played from 2003–06, following a redshirt year in 2002. He started 11 games as a junior for a Spaartans club that set a school record for passing yards (295.5 yards per game). As a senior, he was named second-team All-Big Ten Conference, leading the team in pancake blocks (48) for the second straight year. He closed out his Michigan State career with 35 consecutive starts, and played in the all-star Hula Bowl following the 2006 season

He majored in construction management at Michigan State. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Professional career

Undrafted out of college, Cook signed with the Minnesota Vikings as free agent on May 4, 2007. He was waived by the Vikings on September 1, 2007, and four days later was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad. He was added to the Bengals roster on December 31, 2007.

In 2008 he saw his first NFL action, playing in Games 2-6 on special teams, but was placed on Reserve/Injured list Oct. 17 due to a dislocated toe suffered in a collision during pregame warmups Oct. 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.

In 2009 he earned the starting position in preseason, and was praised by coaches as the “glue” of a revamped unit as the Bengals captured the AFC North title. He helped the Bengals finish ninth in NFL rushing (128.5 yards per game), including a team record of eight games of 100 or more yards by individual backs. He aided in a 141-yard rushing game by Cedric Benson on September 20 at Green Bay. He helped lead fourth-quarter drives of 85 and 71 yards during a comeback win September 27 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. On October 11 at Baltimore, Cook and the rest of the offensive line helped Benson become the first player in 40 games to rush for 100 yards against the Ravens, and on October 25 Benson rushed for a career-high 189 yards vs. the Chicago Bears while aiding a sack-free performance up front.

In 2010 he contributed to the Bengals ranking second in the AFC and sixth in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed per passing play. The offensive line allowed no sacks for 100 straight passing plays to close the season, including the last three full games. Cook aided in an offensive output of 469 total yards October 24 at Atlanta (most by the Bengals since Game 2 of 2007).

In 2011 he helped offense rank tied for fourth in NFL in fewest sacks allowed (25) ... On Sept. 11 at Cleveland, aided blocking effort that helped produce Cedric Benson’s 121-yard, one-TD rushing performance ... Supported run-blocking effort Oct. 2 vs. Buffalo that paved way for 171 yards and 5.3 average, including 104 yards by Benson ... On Oct. 16 vs. Indianapolis, supported pass-protection effort that held Colts for the first time on season without a sack ... On Nov. 20 at Baltimore, helped lead blocking effort for 483 yards of net offense ... On Nov. 27 vs. Cleveland, helped lead protection effort for 389 yards of total offense, including 106 rushing yards by Benson ... Aided 165-yard rushing total Dec. 24 vs. Arizona.

Bengals No. 1 center as training camp began, Cook suffered preseason injury but returned to see action in Games 13-16 and Wild Card playoff, including a return to starting lineup for the last three of those contests ... Spent Games 1-12 on Reserve/Injured list (designated for return) ... Placed on R/I due to ankle injury in preseason game Aug. 23 vs. Green Bay ... he had started 50 consecutive Bengals games (regular season and postseason) through end of 2011, tied at the time for longest streak on current team ...

In 2012, he started first three preseason games, but suffered ankle injury Aug. 23 vs. Green Bay ... Placed Sept. 4 on Reserve/Injured list, as player designated for possible return ... Returned to practice Nov. 28 on roster exemption, activated to 53-player roster Dec. 8, and returned to action Dec. 9 vs. Dallas ... Played in Games 13-16, with starts Dec. 23 at Pittsburgh and Dec. 30 vs. Baltimore ... Also started in Wild Card playoff 1-5-13 at Houston ... In return to action vs. Dallas, helped support blocking effort for team’s 146 net rushing yards ... In Thursday night win Dec. 13 at Philadelphia, aided rushing effort of 41-for-157 (3.8-yard average) and season-best 37:40 possession time, with BenJarvus Green-Ellis (106) becoming only the second player in Bengals history to get four 100-yard rushing totals in a span of five team games.

He was released on March 11, 2014.^[1] He retired on August 21, 2014.^[2]

Personal life

He is married to Lisa and his hobbies include hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. He is a co-owner of a northern Michigan winery (chateau de Leelanau) in Leelanau county near traverse city.

References

External links

• Spartans player page
• Bengals player page