[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING BRANDIN COOKS OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, FOR MAKING THE 
                               NFL ROSTER

  (Mr. McNERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Brandin Cooks, a 
native of Stockton, California, who was selected by the New Orleans 
Saints in the first round of the NFL draft.
  Our region is proud to see one of its own achieve his childhood 
dream. While there are many young men who set the goal of becoming an 
NFL athlete, it is an incredibly difficult task to make it to that 
level. According to the NFL's Players Association:

       Of the 100,000 high school seniors who play football every 
     year, only 215 will ever make an NFL roster. That is a mere 
     0.2 percent.

  Since he was a child, Brandin loved football and worked hard to 
develop his skills. He started playing for the North Stockton Bengals 
youth football program, then Lincoln High School and Oregon State.
  Brandin earned the Biletnikoff Award his junior year as the Nation's 
top receiver and made history at Oregon State. This past February at 
the NFL Combine, he ran the fastest 40-yard dash--in 4.33 seconds.
  Brandin credits his mother, Andrea Cooks, as his inspiration for 
becoming one of the Nation's elite college receivers.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Brandin Cooks and 
wish him a long and successful career in the NFL.

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