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DAYTON, Ohio — University of Dayton quarterback Jack Cook is a believer in controlling what he's able to control, which is ironic, considering what's gone in the Seneca Valley grad's favor on the way to becoming one of the Flyers' most decorated passers.
“It's definitely surreal,” Cook said. “I've had a lot of lucky breaks.”
Cook labels himself as once being a decent safety, a modest self-assessment for someone who took home second-team all-state honors at the position in high school. He confesses he wasn't the type of defender to crash down and try to make tackles in the alley.
Still, he was enlisted to patrol the defensive backfield at Dayton. Too bad there's not a crystal ball that can tell how his college career would have gone if he'd stuck there.
“Who knows?” Cook said. “Maybe I would've been a starter. Maybe not. Maybe I would've hated it. Maybe transferred. Maybe loved it. There's no way of knowing, but I'm really thankful where I am now, playing quarterback.”
When an incoming recruit in the same freshman class quit football and a pair of upperclassmen got hurt, Cook found himself as the sixth passer on the Flyers' depth chart.
Strong showing after strong showing with the scout team eventually earned him the understudy role in 2018. An injury to weathered veteran Alex Jeske in that year's season-opener thrust Cook into action.
He has since thrown for the third-most passing yards in program lore, besting the aforementioned Jeske's 5,306 in a battle with Presbyterian earlier this fall.
“It was probably the craziest, most bizarre game I've ever played in,” Cook said. “They don't punt. They always kick onside kicks.”
Guided by nonconformist coach Kevin Kelley, the Blue Hose had downed their first two opponents by a combined 106 points (and then lost to Campbell, 72-0, in the third game on their schedule.) Cook and the Flyers fell three scores down in the opening quarter of Pioneer Football League play.
Cook set a career-high by running for three scores and throwing for three more. He passed for 262 yards on 19 completions. The Flyers (2-1, 3-2) won 63-43.
His rate of production is lower in comparison to the previous two campaigns, but the offense is breaking in nine new starters.
“As a young team and a team that really hasn't played a lot of football in the last two years, we've done really well,” Cook said. “(They were) nine guys who had never even traveled or prepped for a football game before. The best experience is game experience, in my opinion.”
Cook has tossed 59 touchdown passes with the Flyers. He has a chance to become Dayton's all-time leader in that statistical category at home against Marist on Saturday.
“It will mean a lot to me,” Cook admitted, adding that he wasn't aware that he was so close to the mark. “It's always nice to break records, (but) it's not just me. I've had a lot of good guys catching the ball.”
Technically, Cook could play behind center for one more season at Dayton. He's not sure yet what will happen. He'll graduate with a finance degree, but is mulling over the possibility of staying around football. He revels in game preparation, studying Xs and Os, and breaking film down.
“The more I've been talking to people and thinking about what I really enjoy, I think I might try the coaching route,” he said. “I don't really see myself at a 9-to-5 job, sitting behind a desk and wearing a button-up shirt every day.”
Having already dropped a conference matchup against Morehead State two weeks ago, Dayton has very little room for error if it wants to be in the postseason mix. From here on out, Cook said, every game is like a playoff game.
“Looking at the big picture, football is probably winding down here for me,” Cook said. “I haven't really thought about it. After getting a season taken away from me, you really can't take anything for granted.”
