Final touch motivates Cook

March 18, 2012 at 12:09a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The last time Youngstown State running back Jamaine Cook touched the ball, he and the Penguins had the playoffs in their hands.

They still can’t believe what happened next.

On Nov. 19, YSU led Missouri State 34-31 with just more than two minutes left in the regular season finale at Stambaugh Stadium. On third-and-5, Penguin QB Kurt Hess swung a 5-yard pass to Cook near the left sideline.

Cook dropped it, the Penguins punted and Missouri State marched 64 yards in two minutes, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left, eliminating YSU from the playoff hunt.

“I had the ball at the sticks and I dropped it and that’s something that will probably stick with me forever,” Cook said this week. “I’ll probably play with a chip on my shoulder all season.

“I won’t play thinking about that [play] but I’ll remember that to motivate me in crucial situations where I’ll say, ‘Hey, get the job done.’”

The drop was a rare misstep for Cook, who has been the best player of the two-year Eric Wolford era. Now entering his senior year, Cook wants to leave his mark on the YSU record book and in the trophy case.

“I feel like I performed well last season, but I don’t feel like I performed to my potential,” Cook said. “As an athlete, you’re always trying to perform better than you did before.”

Cook (5-foot-10, 205 pounds) carried 271 times for 1,430 yards and 13 TDs last fall but his increased workload (both on rushing and passing downs) took its toll as the season progressed, robbing him of some of his explosiveness.

Cook talked with offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery about reducing his carries this fall so he’ll be fresh for the second half — and, hopefully, the postseason.

“I had a lot of wear and tear,” said Cook, who had 241 carries for 1,312 yards as a sophomore. “Your body is your business. We need to get some other guys carries and get some fresh bodies in there. That keeps everyone fresh.”

Cook’s primary backups last season, Adaris Bellamy and Jordan Thompson, both battled injuries and neither was as effective in pass protection. (“That’s something I can help those younger guys with,” Cook said of pass blocking.) With redshirt freshman Demond Hymes expected to challenge for the No. 2 spot, YSU should have plenty of secondary options.

“Running back should be a very interesting situation,” Wolford said. “We’ve got four guys who want to be No. 2.

“And who knows? Someone might decide to give Cookie a run for the No. 1 job. That’s going to be tough to do but the best guy is going to play.”

As always, Cook has been a standout in the offseason program and even found time for a workout on Thursday afternoon, one day after his girlfriend gave birth to their daughter at St. Elizabeth.

He still wants to put up big numbers this season — he’s eyeing 1,600 yards (“if not more”) and at least 15 touchdowns — but said team goals are more important.

“As a team, I want us to win a conference championship and then win a national championship,” Cook said. “Just take it step by step. You can’t conquer it all at once.

“I feel like the last game of the season against Missouri State, we started looking at other opponents and I feel like that hurt us at times because we didn’t have that sense of urgency. If we focus on winning every game, that will get us to the conference championship and then we can try to win a national championship.”

YSU was the only team to beat last year’s national champion, North Dakota State, defeating the Bison 27-24 the week before the MSU loss. Cook and his teammates then watched NDSU roll through the postseason en route to its first FCS crown.

“It really hurt me to watch it; it hurt the whole team,” Cook said. “Watching that game, we knew we should have been there.

“This year we’ve got a chip on our shoulder, knowing we don’t want to have that feeling again.”