FSU Alums: Dalvin Cook back at Vikings practice months after torn ACL

Dalvin Cook, who just over six months ago saw his rookie season come to an early end, is back on the field and determined to stay dominant.

On October 1st of last season, the rookie campaign of former FSU football star Dalvin Cook came to an early end when the now Minnesota Vikings running back went down after a tackle in the team’s Week Four game against the Detroit Lions. Almost immediately, the team expected the worst news and got it – Cook was done with a torn ACL.

Fast forward less than seven months and the all-time leading rusher in Seminoles history is back on the field in the Twin Cities, going through drills with the Vikings over the past week and looking like he is preparing to be back at his peak for the 2018 season.

Cook, who is now walking with a giant brace on that surgically repaired left knee, has been taking part in agility, non-contact drills with team officials saying he could be back to full speed by as early as July – well ahead of training camp and the 2018 preseason.

The team’s head athletic trainer told the media that Dalvin Cook has knocked his rehab “out of the park” and should be back to the star he was before the injury. Cook, meanwhile, admits that the process was grueling (h/t Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

"“It’s a process. It’s a journey,” Cook said Tuesday. “It’s something you have to trust yourself and know you did everything in your power to get your knee back to where it was at. It’s a lot, man. It’s a lot I have in front of me.”"

During his time in Tallahassee, Dalvin Cook dealt with shoulder and hamstring issues that required a few surgeries and games missed – but he came out of it a better player for the Seminoles and built himself into the second round pick in 2017 (and should have been picked higher).

Next: FSU Football all-time players drafted by Florida NFL teams

There is no doubt that Cook will be a feared back during the 2018 season as the Vikings look to repeat as NFC North champs – with a thoroughbred in the backfield who will make defenses look silly trying to stop him.