With the college football transfer portal as active as ever, Washington wide receiver Johntay Cook is looking for a new home. Cook was arguably the second biggest name to enter the portal behind Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who found his new home with the UCLA Bruins.
Cook, a five-star prospect in high school, spent two seasons at Texas before entering the portal for the first time in November 2024. He then transferred to Washington but left the program after just “roughly 48 hours” on the campus. Now, the former Texas wide receiver is drawing interest in the portal once again from a rising ACC program.
Transfer Watch: Texas WR Johntay Cook Draws Fran Brown’s Attention
Cook is a top-11 player in the portal, as per 247Sports. He visited Syracuse, as Chris Hummer of 247Sports mentioned on Monday. This indicates that Syracuse is very interested in one of the top wide receivers in the porta, but the interest may be met with more from Cook’s side.
The Syracuse Orange is undoubtedly an interesting landing spot for Cook. This comes shortly after the Orange saw wide receiver Trebor Pena enter the portal, hoping to land a $2 million NIL deal. Should Cook choose to go to Syracuse, he will see most of the workload next season.
Cook also visited Arizona State over the Easter weekend. Arizona State is also in the market for a player like Cook, despite a very questionable past following a series of arrests. However, the work Cook can do on the field makes him still a very sought-after player with hopes of shaping him off the field, too.
Following his departure from Washington, Cook was arrested twice in just weeks. He was arrested the first time for theft and interference with public duties, and the second time he was arrested for marijuana possession in a state where marijuana wasn’t yet legal.
Still, the former five-star prospect’s talent is more than evident. In his 20 combined games at Texas, he caught 16 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns. What makes this more impressive is that he was logjammed behind a group of pass-catchers with the Longhorns and still managed to play very well.
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Cook is a player who has an immensely bright future, should he be able to put it together both on and off the field. Teams are very interested in the young, former five-star prospect in hopes of molding him into a better player and a better person off the field. The sky is truly the limit for Cook, but it’s up to him whether he should make it or break it.
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