All-SEC Mississippi State linebacker, Super Bowl champ Johnie Cooks dead at 64

Three-time all-Southeastern Conference linebacker and Super Bowl champion Johnie Cooks has died. He was 64.

Cooks played four seasons at Mississippi State, which released notice of his death on Thursday. A cause of death was not given.

Cooks finished his college career with 392 tackles and 24 sacks. He twice led Mississippi State in tackles in the 1978 and 1981 season. In 1980, Cooks posted a career-best 24 tackles in a game with Auburn.

Cooks, from Leland, Mississippi, was perhaps best known for a forced fumble near the goal line that helped preserve the Bulldogs’ 6-3 win over No. 1 Alabama in 1980.

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Cooks was drafted No. 2 overall by Baltimore in 1982 and played 10 seasons in the NFL. He played six with the Colts before joining the New York Giants, where was part of their 1990 Super Bowl championship season. He finished his career with the Cleveland Browns in 1991.

Mississippi State athletic director Zac Selmon extended condolences to Cook’s family. “Johnie will be remembered forever in Starkville as he is cemented as an MSU legend,” Selmon said in a statement.

Cooks was named to the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and is part of the Bulldogs’ Ring of Honor at Davis Wade Stadium.