UNLV REBELS

Gary Cook

16

Class: Senior Hometown: Truckee, Calif. High School: Truckee HS

Height / Weight: 6-1 / 200 Position: P Birthdate: 03/11/1983 Experience: 3L

UNLV: A former invited walk-on who has developed into a national honors candidate ... Named preseason Second Team All-MWC by Athlon and Lindy's and third team by Phil Steele's ... Ranked the No. 20 punter in the nation by The Sporting News ... The Mountain West Conference's all-time leader in punts (217) and punting yards (8,739) ... Heads into fall ranked ninth in the league in career average with 40.3 ... Always an efficiency specialist, he became a long-distance booter last fall ... Also serves as the holder for kicks ...

2003: A Second Team All-MWC selection by both coaches and media after a record-breaking junior campaign ... Voted UNLV's Co-Special Teams Player of the Year ... Led league with a school-record 83 punt attempts ... Ranked second in the MWC and 19th nationally with a 43.4 punting average ... Kicked a stunning one-third of his kicks 50 yards or longer ... Named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List ... Boomed a career-long 66-yarder at UNR ... An effective placement punter who has added to his distance ... Earned MWC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after booming three punts of more than 50 yards at Wisconsin ... Knocked seven of his 11 punts against Hawaii inside the 20-yard line, booted four for more than 50 yards and sent one 62 yards ...

2002: Punted each of team's 70 kicks, including 28 over 40 yards and eight 50 or longer ... Finished ranked 84th nationally and seventh in Mountain West Conference with a 38.3 average ... Hit a season-long 63-yarder at San Diego State ... Best game came vs. Air Force when he kicked twice for a 49.0 average ... Booted a career-high 10 times vs. both UNR and SDSU ...

2001: Named team's starting punter minutes before season opener at Arkansas and held on to job for all 11 games ... Boomed 48-yarder in first career attempt vs. Hogs ... Booted 64 times for 38.4-yard average ... Hit 28 kicks 40 yards or more, including six of eight attempts vs. Utah ... Named MWC Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 7 after punting six times for 272 yards for a career-best average of 45.3 at UNR ... Performance included a career-long 64-yarder ... Was third Rebel punter ever to be so honored and first UNLV freshman to garner the award since QB Jon Denton in 1996 ...

HIGH SCHOOL: A 2001 graduate of Truckee HS ... Played linebacker, wide receiver, punted and place-kicked for the Wolverines ... Named AAA all-state as a punter as a senior ... Set school record with 82-yard punt and career-best hang-time was clocked at 5.19 ... Also kicked a 44-yard field goal as a junior ...

PERSONAL: Gary Cook was born on March 11, 1983 ... The son of Dean and Sharon Cook ... Cousin, Brent Cook, played baseball at Cal ... Majoring in construction management.

ROBINSON SAYS: "Gary Cook has improved each year he has been playing. There's no question that if he improves again he will be one of the top five punters in college football."

COOK'S PUNTING STATS
YEAR	PUNTS	YARDS	AVG	LG	50+	IN 20
2003	83	3,604	43.4	66	26	22
2002	70	2,680	38.3	63	8	26
2001	64	2,455	38.4	64	4	18
TOTAL	217	8,739	40.3	66	38	66