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American gridiron football player (born 1995) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stephen Case Cookus (born October 6, 1995), nicknamed the Chef,[1] is an American professional football quarterback for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). As a true freshman at Northern Arizona University, he was named the recipient of the 2015 Jerry Rice Award and the STATS FCS Freshman Player of the Year Award, both of which are awarded to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision.[2][3] He holds the record for most combined passing and rushing touchdowns in a USFL game with five, which he accomplished in a game against the Michigan Panthers on June 5, 2022.
 Cookus with the Edmonton Elks in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 – Memphis Showboats | |||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born: | October 6, 1995 Thousand Oaks, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Thousand Oaks (CA) | ||||||||||||||||
| College: | Northern Arizona (2015–2019) | ||||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career spring football statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
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As a true freshman, Cookus began the season as the starting quarterback. After throwing for 3,111 yards and 37 touchdowns, he was named Freshman of the Year and was the winner of the Jerry Rice Award, which is given to the most outstanding freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision.[4] He was also named to the All-Big Sky First-team.
In the 2016 season, Cookus started the first four games of the season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Eastern Washington on September 24. Against New Mexico Highlands, he tied school record of seven touchdown passes in a single game. For the season, he threw for 1,173 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and one interception.[5]
Cookus made a comeback season in 2017. His best game came against Cal Poly where he completed 35 of 46 passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns. For the season, he threw 275 passes on 474 attempts for 3,413 yards with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Cookus took Northern Arizona to the playoffs, but lost 41–20 in the first round to San Diego after throwing 22 of 41 for 178 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.[6] Against Montana, Cookus was ejected for targeting after throwing a downfield block, a very rare occurrence since targeting is almost exclusively called against defensive players.[7]
During the second game of the season against Eastern Washington, Cookus once again injured his shoulder while trying to run the ball. He finished the season completing 24 passes on 34 attempts for 265 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, including an 84-yard strike to wide receiver Emmanuel Butler in the season opener.[8]
Cookus signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2020.[11] He was waived on August 2, 2020.[12]
On May 17, 2021, Cookus signed with the Denver Broncos, but was waived three days later on May 20.[13][14]
On August 2, 2021, Cookus signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but was waived three days later on August 5.[15][16]
On August 10, 2021, Cookus signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.[17] He was waived on August 16, 2021.[18]
On October 20, 2021, Cookus signed with the CFL's Edmonton Elks.[19] He was released 5 days later.
Cookus was selected in the 12th round of the 2022 USFL draft by the Philadelphia Stars.[20] He led the Stars into the championship game, but had to depart the game with a broken leg.[21]
On November 23, 2022, Cookus signed with the practice squad of the Los Angeles Rams.[22] His practice squad contract expired when the team's season ended on January 9, 2023.
On February 17, 2023, Cookus re-signed with the Stars.[23] The Stars folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[24]
On January 5, 2024, Cookus was selected by the Memphis Showboats during the 2024 UFL dispersal draft.[25]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
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