Former MSU-Northern quarterback Dylan Cook has enjoyed his time in the NFL so far. It’s been a transitional road for the former Butte High School product to get where he’s needed to be.
“I’ve got this little saying I always tell myself whenever things do get difficult: ‘I’m not even supposed to be here,’” Cook told the Montana Standard. ” I tell myself that any time I get nervous or anxious or tired, ‘I’m not even supposed to be here.’”
To remind people of Cook’s journey, he initially came to Havre to play quarterback for the Lights, signing during the 2016 recruiting class. He threw two touchdowns in 11 completed passes in 2017 to go along with rushing totals of 177 yards and three scores.
He knew he needed to make a change if he wanted to play professionally, so he transferred to the University of Montana and started bulking up, walking on as an offensive lineman. Three seasons and 26 games later, he was ready for the NFL, but didn’t hear his name called during the draft.
Bouncing around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization on the practice squad, he was later cut and joined the Pittsburgh Steelers during last summer’s training camp, where he finally got a shot at making an NFL team. He in fact cracked the 53-man roster and while not appearing in any games this past season, is still ready when his name is called.
“Short term, I’d like to make the active roster again and do whatever I can in that sense to help the team win,” Cook said. “Long term, I want to be playing. I want to be starting, I don’t want to be the sixth guy or seventh guy, I want to be in the top five.”
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