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Todd Graham is very familiar with Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The junior from Stockton, California, checks in at 5'10 and 186 pounds, but he has kept the Arizona State head coach up all night watching film.
Yesterday, Graham went as far as to say Cooks is the best wide receiver in the Pac-12. Today, Graham elaborated stating Cooks is the best player the Sun Devils will have faced all year.
"I think he's probably the best overall player we have played against," said Graham. "No question he is the quickest guy off the ball we have seen. He's dangerous vertically, he's dangerous intermediately and he's dangerous and screens. He does just about everything."
Cooks leads the nation with 1,344 receiving yards. This season, he has three games of at least 190 yards receiving and 14 receiving touchdowns. One element Graham says Cooks excels in is on screen passes.
"They run every screen in the world," said a tired Graham. "I looked at those all night long."
Sun Devils handling success
Graham reiterated this morning that he feels that it is more difficult to handle success than adversity. His team is currently riding a three-game winning streak and Arizona State holds a one-game lead in the Pac-12 South.
"We talk to our players about staying humble and staying hungry," said Graham. "There are a lot more distractions in success then when you are on a losing streak."
Graham says he will focus his players on staying hungry and humble the rest of the season. He then went on to share his unorthodox secret to avoiding the distractions that come with success.
"I take my phone and just throw it in the drawer," said Graham. "I don't want to be rude to people but there are so many distractions"
Practice Notes
- Redshirt freshman field safety Laiu Moeakiola donned a green, non-contact jersey Tuesday morning. Moekiola started at SPUR linebacker against Utah but was limited in practice and wore a brace on his right knee.
- Defensive lineman Mo Latu was back on the offensive side of the ball Tuesday morning. The sophomore defensive tackle lined up as the left guard on the scout team offense.