Chances are there's a lot you already know about new Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Here are five things you might not know:
Five things you might not know about new Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins
March 16, 2018 at 2:19AM
Every quarterback — heck, every player — in the NFL wants to win like Tom Brady. So when Brady began touting his strict dietary regimen, players around the league paid attention, including Cousins.
A battery of scientific tests through blood work showed the way his body processes food. After a couple run-throughs, Cousins was convinced. His action plan, according to the Washington Post, included cutting out eggs, dairy and wheat-based foods. His go-tos now are poultry, lean beef, fish, fruits and vegetables
His flag football coach is a Hall of Famer
When Cousins was 10 years old, he was at the top of his game in flag football. His father, Don Cousins, was the head coach of the Barrington (Ill.) Bears.
His assistant? Bears linebacker great Mike Singletary.
"We were well-coached," Kirk Cousins says now.
One game when Don was out of town, Singletary was put in charge. Singletary turned to young Kirk Cousins to call the plays.
"At 10 years old, I was calling my own plays because Mike just wanted to focus on defense," Kirk told ESPN. "We joke about that to this day."
He's a published author
Teddy Bridgewater and his girlfriend, Erika Cardona, published a children's book entitled "Little Bear Teddy: Big Dream Come True." Well, Cousins is a published author, too.
"Game Changer: Faith, Football and Finding Your Way" was published in 2013. In a video that year, Cousins talked to the Washington Post about how he settled on the title.
"The book was really about the principles in my life that helped guide me, both on the football field and off the football field. They were game-changing principles in my life, much like you have a game-changing player or a game-changing moment in sports, you have these life principles that guide you that make all the difference and so I figured 'Why not Game Changer?' But make it also very clear in the beginning of the book that the title is not about me; it's more about the principles that have guided me."
YOU LIKE THAT?!
A Cousins video went viral almost immediately in 2015. Cousins, coming off the field and headed to the locker room, turned to Comcast SportsNet reporter Tarik El-Bashir and shouted, YOU LIKE THAT?! It became a meme. It was a hit on Vine (47 million views!), which no longer exists. It popped up on YouTube. It was everywhere.
But why did he do it? Down 24-0 against the Buccaneers midway through the second quarter, Cousins led Washington back, sealing it with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Reed with 24 seconds left to make it 31-30. Cousins was 33 of 40 for 317 yards and three TDs.
So, yeah, YOU LIKE THAT?!
College competition at QB
Cousins played at Michigan State. After redshirting in 2007, he spent the 2008 season as the backup to Brian Hoyer. The next year, he beat out Keith Nichol for the starting job. That also prompted the transfer of Nick Foles from Michigan State to Arizona.
Three of them — Cousins, Hoyer and Foles — turned their college days into fairly successful NFL careers. Foles is the reigning Super Bowl MVP and Cousins just became the NFL's highest-paid quarterback and the first in league history to have his contract fully guaranteed.
Sam Rinzel had two of the Gophers’ three power play goals against the Irish.
