'Heart of gold': How Mississippi State football's Johnie Cooks was memorialized at service

STARKVILLE — The clouds bringing heavy rainfall to Mississippi opened up to let sunshine fill Davis Wade Stadium as Mississippi State football great Johnie Cooks was honored Thursday in a service representative of his infectious personality.

When former New York Giants linebackers coach Al Groh took the podium during a memorial service for Cooks, who died July 6 at 64, he summed up what many felt in the room. Sitting inside the M-Club Center overlooking Mississippi State’s field, Groh began with a reminder of what it meant to have a memorial service filled with laughter.

“This is the most fun I’ve ever had at a funeral,” Groh joked in a testament to the life Cooks lived and the joy he spread.

Among friends, family and a plethora of prominent Mississippi State figures – from basketball legend Bailey Howell to former women’s basketball assistant Johnnie Harris – a final farewell was given for an unforgettable icon.

Johnie Cooks: Rooted in family and friends

There were stories shared of Cooks' passion for family. When he battled illness, he asked doctors to make sure his kids were OK. His first signing bonus after being drafted No. 2 overall by the Giants in 1982 helped buy his parents a house.

The night he got drafted, he drove to pick up his siblings so they could share the joy with him. Cooks was the sixth of nine children, with his younger brother Otis among those speaking at the service. Cooks never got in trouble, Otis said, but he always was the first to bail his younger siblings out.

“I wouldn’t be standing here today without my brother,” Otis said.

Cooks was viewed as a genuine friend, but that didn’t mean he'd only give them compliments. He spoke his mind, forcing Otis to tell friends to leave their feelings at the door when coming over.

“He had the heart of gold,” Otis said. “To know him was to love him.”

Johnie Cooks: The football star

Over the right shoulder of those speaking was a reminder of the football star Cooks became. His name resides in the center of Mississippi State’s Ring of Honor. Fittingly, his name is next to Jack Cristil – the longtime voice of MSU sports.

As his family did, many MSU fans grew up listening to games on the radio as Cristil would repeat, “And the tackle made by Johnie Cooks.”

Cooks remains the highest-drafted player in Mississippi State history. He was a three-time All-SEC linebacker who lettered at MSU from 1977-81. When his career ended in Starkville, he ranked fourth in school history with 24 sacks and fifth in tackles with 392.

“He was way before his time – 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, ran a 4.5 40-(yard dash),” former MSU teammate Rob Fesmire told the Clarion Ledger. “It was just unheard of. He was just a specimen. A great, great football player but a better teammate and a better person.”

When things got tough in a huddle, Cooks was the one who’d deliver a needed message.

“He’d look you straight in the eye and say, ‘Hey, we got this. Let’s go. Let’s get this done,” Fesmire said. “We believed it when he said it.”

MORE ON COOKS: Wife of Johnie Cooks shares her favorite memories of the NFL, Mississippi State legend

Johnie Cooks: The legacy left behind

Cooks grew up in Leland, Mississippi, with very little. Even with his size and athleticism, there was doubt about what he could do in Starkville.

“Oh, he won’t make it there that country boy,” Otis would hear.

But there was significance in Cooks just making it to Mississippi State. He was the first in his family to go to college. He paved a path for his grandkids, nieces and nephews to hold similar aspirations. If they elect to go to Mississippi State, it’s a decision he’d surely endorse.

“There’s a lot of athletes that think that the schools owe them,” Fesmire said. “Johnie always had the attitude that he owed everything to Mississippi State because they saw something in him that other people didn’t.”

It was fitting, then, that this farewell on Mississippi State’s campus included testimonies of what Cooks meant to people – little of which had to do with tackles or turnovers.

“If he wouldn’t have played professional football, I still would have loved him,” Otis said. “He still was my big brother. I didn’t love him for what he had. I loved him for who he was.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Johnie Cooks dies: How Mississippi State football star was memorialized