When It Comes To Football, There Is No Quit In Malcolm Cook

Malcolm Cook loves a good challenge.

To say he has immensely persevered throughout his momentous six years with the University of Virginia football program would be putting it mildly. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior linebacker from Richmond — by way of Fork Union Military Academy — only appeared in a total of six games from 2013 heading into last season, and then missed four more contests in 2017.

Cook, however, remained focused and positive, and has endured countless hours of hard work and dedication to get back onto the gridiron for one more challenge.

After redshirting his first year, Cook has experienced injuries to each knee, a shoulder, and then was forced to sit out the entire 2016 season with myocarditis, a potentially dangerous heart condition that drastically limited his physical activity.

He admitted that he seriously considered walking away from the game he loved. Worse yet, he feared if by making the effort to return, could he end up just having yet another setback?

It was a tough decision. But he got by with a little help from his friends.

Cornerback Tim Harris has shared a similar struggle with injuries, as he is also in his sixth year as a Wahoo. Harris, who also hails from the Richmond area, only played in three games over the previous two seasons after registering 23 starts over his first three years under Mike London.

Cook says he and Harris are tight like brothers, and describes their bond as unbreakable. It was Harris who ultimately convinced Cook back in January to join him for one final season.

“We both understand the process and going through all our trials here…,” Cook said. “To get hurt and come back and get hurt, it just hurts your confidence a little bit. We talk to each other every day, we’ve been through so much here, we did a lot together, we just got baptized together a few weeks ago. Me and Tim have grown a lot from the first day we stepped on campus in 2013.

“I had to sit down with Tim, and Tim was one of the main people who was telling me ‘If you give it up now, what would you tell your kids later on?’ And so that played a huge part in me wanting to come back and wanting to redeem myself and wanting to show people that I am durable. I can play a whole season, and I can keep doing what I was doing as far as making plays and being productive — and do more as well.”

He also said a lot of his other teammates had a lot to do with his decision to give it one more go.

“That whole process was dark trying to decide, okay it’s time to find a job,” Cook said of contemplating his fate, “and so my heart couldn’t bring me to do it, because my heart was here with football and my heart wanted to be around the brotherhood and all the guys. They played a huge part as well, all the teammates in the locker room. Definitely played a huge role with me deciding to want to come back.”

Despite missing time again last year — this time with torn ligaments in his ankle — Cook still played in nine games (started six), finishing with 46 total tackles (four for a loss) and a pair of sacks.

Now in 2018, both Cook and Harris are starters and major contributors for Bronco Mendenhall’s defense. It was Cook who approached Mendenhall to suggest a position switch that has paid dividends for the entire unit.

When three-time ACC tackles leader Micah Kiser left for the NFL following last season, it left a huge hole at the “Buck” linebacker position. Cook, who started his collegiate career as a safety before moving to outside linebacker, took it upon himself to step up. He couldn’t resist proving himself yet again.

“I went to [Mendenhall] and I asked him, ‘Is there a way I could go to the Buck?,’ and he gave me a shot,” recalled Cook, who graduated with a degree in education. “I knew Micah was gone, and somebody has to want to fill the big shoes. … That’s what I wanted, and so I want to chase after what Micah did and what everybody else did at the inside linebacker role. I love challenges and so that’s why I asked to be in that role.

“[Mendenhall] told me, ‘To move inside you have to be durable, you have to be productive, and you have to be consistent.’ And that’s the motto right now. That’s the ‘New Standard.’ In order to play on this defense, you’ve got to be wild, you’ve got to be nasty, you’ve got to have grit. You’ve got to be able to fly around and not care about your body at times, and you’ve got to be durable and you’ve got to be consistent.”

Since then, Cook says junior linebackers Jordan Mack and Dominic Sheppard helped show him the ropes and get him acclimated in the offseason. It’s a bit of a switch in terms of where he is on the field and re-training his mind to focus on different aspects of the game, Cook admits, but he feels the mindset is similar and that he’s adjusted well thus far.

Heading into the Richmond game this past Saturday, Cook said he just wanted to get back out there and play the game he loved so dearly.

“That’s the last first time, that’s going to be our last first game here. It’s just bittersweet…,” Cook said. “I finally got out there at a new position, nothing really floating through the mind, just get out there and get the job done.”

Cook says he and Harris do just about everything together — they meet for lunch at Chick-fil-A at “The Pav” on Grounds nearly every day, they go out to movies, they even got baptized together a few weeks ago.

That special bond will not only help carry the UVa defense in 2018, but should certainly inspire any other Cavalier teammates who may be facing a serious setback to not give up on their playing career.

Cook explained how he approached such a situation when he recently found out that Sheppard would not play this season with ACL surgery, after what Mendenhall referred to as a strong fall camp.

“I told Dom, ‘It’s not what you want to hear right now, because I didn’t want to hear that in 2016, but,’ I told him, ‘at this point in time, you can’t go back on what happened — now you’ve just got to move forward and progress and get healthy and get better,’” Cook said.

Cook has been there, done that when it comes to watching from the sideline, but he never gave up. He even called in defensive plays during the 2016 season when he knew he couldn’t contribute on the field.

Now with a fresh outlook and a new challenge at a new position, Cook has one more chance to prove to everyone exactly what he’s made of.

“Now it’s just going out there and just enjoying the last moments — that’s all it’s about right now,” said Cook. “Take it in, everything.”