The Sun Devils have already faced some of the best wide receivers in the country, but this week, the ASU defense faces its biggest test yet.
The Sun Devils’ secondary held USC junior wide receiver Marqise Lee in check and shut down Colorado junior wideout Paul Richardson. However, Oregon State junior wide receiver Brandin Cooks is an entirely different beast.
“Right now, I think he’s the top dog in the pack,” said ASU redshirt senior cornerback Osahon Irabor. “The way he’s been performing and making plays for their team, he’s their guy, and he’s done a great job making plays when the ball is in his hands, so I think he’s at the very top.”
Cooks currently leads the country in receiving yards (1344) and ranks second in the country in receiving touchdowns (14).
A year ago, Cooks burned the Sun Devils to the tune of 116 receiving yards and one touchdown, but Irabor will be taking the lessons he learned against Cooks last year into Saturday’s contest.
“You’ve seen a guy before; you kind of know how he plays,” Irabor said. “We know he’s a good player, and we know we gotta do things to take him away … and make sure he doesn’t get loose on us.”
Stopping Cooks will be harder than it sounds, though, because he’s not only a threat through the air but a threat on the ground as well.
The Beavers are excellent at running the fly-sweep and Cooks is third on the team in rushing with 174 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Cooks averages 7.6 yards per carry.
“It’s a lot of pressure on (the secondary),” said safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Chris Ball. “Early on in the year, it was a tough play for us, because we didn’t do a great job of playing it, but we got it corrected and have done a pretty good job of playing it lately. But it’s a tough play especially when you give it to (Cooks).”
But, as good as Cooks is, ASU can’t solely focus on him.
“You gotta be careful. You can’t give all of your attention to No. 7 (Cooks),” Ball said. “You have other guys that can hurt you on offense, too … but he’s a great player, and we’ll be ready.”
Reach the reporter at ejsmith7@asu.edu or follow him on twitter @EricSmith_SP
