One of the biggest advantages to acquire talent and accrue value in Devy leagues is by identifying talent early. Getting shares of a player before they have proven their potential is how you’ll gain an advantage over league mates. Acquiring these players in advance, without paying a premium to acquire them is your best bet to accumulate a pipeline of high impact Devy assets. One of those advantages can be found in the way of drafting or trading for true freshman, especially wide receivers, who have yet to fully burst onto the scene. One of those players is Texas Longhorns WR Johntay Cook.
While buying into players sight unseen can seem like a risky proposition, we have tools and information at our disposal to help us navigate these murky waters. One such tool is the Year One Zero Theory from our friends over at Campus2Canton. It’s a simple yet effective theory that helps cancel out the noise and let’s us know what early production matters.
Looking back at freshman season production of elite Devy assets like Marvin Harrison Jr and Emeka Egbuka, as well as premiere dynasty assets like Jaxon Smith-Njigba and DeVonta Smith, shows us just how little is required of the players to stay on an elite trajectory.
Using this knowledge to target high-end recruits that your league mates may believe are underachieving is an excellent way to capitalize on this information.
Johntay Cook II – Texas Longhorns
One of those players you should be targeting is Johntay Cook II. The 5⭐️ Texas receiver is an electric playmaker with exceptional skills and advanced technical abilities for a player of his age.
Texas WR commit Johntay Cook with a long TD catch before halftime to put DeSoto up 21-10. pic.twitter.com/PE2uMYR9Ua
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) November 4, 2022
Cook ended his high-school career with 3,000 receiving yards and 50 touchdowns over three seasons at Desoto in Texas. He capped off his career with a state championship, All-State honors, an All-American selection, and an invite to play in the Under Armor All-American Game.
2023 Under Armour All-America Week Final Notes about Johntay Cook. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/b8jr9tGGsr
— 40AcresLandLord (@40AcresLandLord) January 5, 2023
Johntay continued his impressive play into the spring. Cook was making waves all training camp, including multiple big splash plays in the Texas spring game.
Maalik Murphy hitting Johntay Cook deep for the TD 🤘@SmvOperator x @_jayythegreat_ pic.twitter.com/GulYTCK0UE
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 15, 2023
He’s also shown glimpses of his big play ability in his limited reps during the regular season.
Deep ball to Johntay Cook!!! pic.twitter.com/3iqCkIvJXt
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) September 24, 2023
With Texas on track to play for a BIG12 Championship, as well as earn a berth in the College Football Playoff, it’s unlikely Cook will play a prominent role down the stretch.
But knowing he’s already hit the minimum thresholds for freshman receivers, along with the fact that Texas will likely graduate it’s entire starting receiver group to the NFL draft this season, makes for a potential boom in year two for Cook.
Another contributing factor to Cook’s potential success is the track record head coach Steve Sarkisian has with producing top end wide receiver talent. This is something I highlighted in an earlier article when I talked up fellow Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell. Don’t forget about the arrival of highly touted Freshman QB Arch Manning, who in all likelihood, will take over the quarterback duties for the Longhorns as soon as next season. All the stars are aligning for Cook to be the main guy in one of the best situations in college football for the next couple of seasons.
With his skills and opportunity, Cook is someone you should be targeting in your Devy leagues. He’s already gained the attention of some of the most prominent Devy analysts. He should have your attention as well.
Freshman WR Johntay Cook II is becoming one of my favorites in the class. He’s reportedly had an amazing spring camp and could challenge for immediate targets in 2023.
— Kevin (@Daboys_22) April 2, 2023
