Luke Fickell: 'Bryan Cook was the Most Underrated Player on our Team'

CINCINNATI — There are eight Bearcats projected to go off the board in Thursday's NFL Draft. One of them isn't getting talked about quite as much as the other prospects but was just as integral to the team's success as some of the bigger names.

Head coach Luke Fickell discussed safety Bryan Cook's impact with Dave Lapham.

"I think he's the most underrated guy on our team," Fickell said on In The Trenches. "When (James) Wiggins got hurt, and he played the whole (AAC) Championship game and played against Georgia that's when we knew what we had. He played his butt off."

Fickell joked how hard he was kicking himself for not recognizing the talent sooner.

"In the winter we had our little combine testing," Fickell said. "When he ran 4.45 (seconds in the 40-yard dash) I kind of looked around and went, 'I'm not sure we are really good coaches guys, Tell me why we didn't have this guy on the field more?' He's dynamic and he is as good a well-rounded kid as we've got in the whole program."

Cook is the consensus 97th-ranked player in the draft and the seventh best cornerback.