B-CU Athletics Mourns Passing of NFL'er Damion Cook, Age 36

DAMION COOK

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Damion Cook, who provided the defensive foundation for the renaissance of Bethune-Cookman football as well as one of the program’s most light-hearted moments, died Friday. He was 36.

Cook, who would go on to play in the National Football League, Canadian Football League and United Football League, suffered a heart attack as he was moving into his new home in Baltimore, Maryland where he was Head Football Coach at Atholton High School.

The Baltimore Suns confirmed that Cook died at his home on Friday morning after returning from a road trip to visit his parents in Florida.

"Damion Cook was a giant man with a gentle spirit," said B-CU Athletic Director Lynn Thompson. "As a young Wildcat, he was a brilliant student-athlete from a tremendous family who supported him and our university for many years.

"It is now our time for us, the B-CU family, to support the Cook family with love, prayer and acts of kindness as they endure the heartbreak of losing him much too soon," Thompson added.

Along with Adul Yates and Rod Smith, Cook anchored a defensive line for the 1998 Wildcats who improved from a 4-7 mark the previous season to an 8-3 finish – the program’s first winning season since 1985 as well as the highest win total since 1977. That season ended with a berth in the Heritage Bowl against Southern televised nationally on NBC.

Cook provided one of the program’s most unusual moments during the epic eight-overtime game against Virginia State earlier in the season.

In the sixth overtime, he blocked a field goal attempt, picked up the ball and lumbered all the way down the field for the apparent game winning touchdown. However, Cook thought the five-yard line was the end zone and proceeded to dive, only to land on the one-yard line and end the play.

Bethune-Cookman would still win, 63-57, and Cook gladly endured the nickname “Big Dive” the remainder of his Wildcat career that included a Black College All-American nod in 2000.

"Although he was a year older, it didn't take me long to recognize the personality of this gentle giant," said Rashean Mathis, a B-CU teammate of Cook now with the Detroit Lions. "At the time, he was the biggest athlete I know but he topped that with one of the greatest personalities I had ever seen. Although we didn't keep in touch over the years, the memories we shared will last forever."

The American Heritage (Fla.) product, who earned a Hospitality Management degree in 2001, was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent that year and would spend time on the practice squad. He earned a brief moment attention for his imitation of Ray Lewis that made it on the inaugural season of "Hard Knocks."

He would later play for the Chicago Bears, the Ravens, the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions in addition to the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad. Also, he played for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL and was on the Arena League's Tampa Bay Storm's practice squad..

After his playing days, Cook became a strength and coaching in Michigan from 2011 to 2013 before taking a position as a mental health counselor with the Howard County (Md.) Public School System, which led to the Atholton coaching job. Atholton was 3-7 last season after winning just one game the year before.

He is survived by his wife, JaNiece, and three children, Mikah, Lucas and Brianna.

COURTESY BETHUNE COOKMAN UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION