Texas Football: 3 biggest DB setbacks for Longhorns this offseason

1. The potential loss of Anthony Cook

In one of the more cryptic social media posts in recent memory involving any Longhorns player, rising junior cornerback and former four-star recruit Anthony Cook stated on his Twitter timeline that he did not intend to play another snap for this team. Cook has since deleted the tweet, but we still don’t know what that means for his status for the upcoming season.

While Cook isn’t the most prominent part of this secondary, he was at least expected to compete for a starting role at the nickelback/SPUR hybrid position or be a valuable back defensive back come this fall. Depending on where Foster plays at this coming season, Cook could’ve filled a different role given his versatility and gifted physical tools.

Cook registered 42 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, three pass deflections, and one forced fumble, in his two seasons playing for the Longhorns thus far. The 6-foot-1 and 190 pound defensive back played in 15 games in the last two years combined. He has missed time due to injury issues, and even a targeting call.

Coming out of Lamar High School in Houston, TX, Cook was one of the most highly touted cornerback recruits of the 2018 cycle. He ranked as the nation’s No. 64 2018 high school prospect, No. 10 cornerback, and No. 7 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). Cook signed with the Longhorns 2018 recruiting class with a very talented group of defensive backs that also included Foster, safety Caden Sterns, and cornerback Jalen Green.