Nov. 5, 2008

University of South Carolina strong safety Emanuel Cook is one of 13 college football defensive backs named as a Thorpe Award semifinalist.

The award, named after Oklahoma born Native American sports legend Jim Thorpe, is presented annually to the defensive back that best exhibits performance on the field, athletic ability and character.

Cook, a 5-10, 203-pound junior from Riviera Beach, Fla., leads the Gamecocks and is seventh in the SEC in tackles with 72, an average of 8.0 per game, with a high of 14 in the win at Ole Miss. He was a second-team All-SEC selection a year ago.

The semifinalist list will be narrowed to three finalists on Monday, November 24, and the winner will be announced on the ESPNU College Football Awards Show, broadcast nationally on Thursday, December 11. Formal presentation will be at a banquet in Oklahoma City on Monday, February 11, 2009.

Jim Thorpe is generally considered history’s greatest all-around athlete – a man who excelled as a running back, passer and kicker on offense, but also as a defensive back. Recognized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame simply as “The Legend,” Thorpe also played professional baseball and won gold medals in the 1912 Olympics decathlon and pentathlon.