On Dec. 28, Johntay Cook II announced he was transferring to Washington.
Cook, a former 247Sports composite five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle, made his decision clear in a post on his social media.
“Fun fact,” the wide receiver wrote. “I can stand the rain.”
Now, he’s leaving less than three weeks after his commitment. Cook is no longer part of the UW football program, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Seattle Times. Cook had enrolled in time and been on campus for the start of winter quarter on Jan. 6.
The 6-foot, 186-pound wideout spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Texas, but departed the Longhorns in the middle of the 2024 season. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian called Cook’s exit a mutual decision at the time.
In 20 games at Texas, Cook had 16 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He played in six games as a sophomore before leaving the team.
Cook was a highly productive high-school player at Texas powerhouse DeSoto High, south of Dallas. He caught 166 passes for 3,026 yards and 50 touchdowns during a three-year varsity career.
His high-school performances made Cook one of the country’s top recruits. He was considered the No. 6 player in Texas, the No. 4 receiver nationally and the No. 31 player overall in the country as a senior.
Cook committed to Texas out of a final group that also included Michigan, Ole Miss and Oregon. He also held offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and USC, among several others.
Following his exit from Texas, Cook entered the transfer portal. He took a visit to Florida before committing to UW.
Cook’s arrival came at a good time for the Huskies. Starting wide receivers Giles Jackson and Jeremiah Hunter ran out of eligibility during the 2024 season, meaning Denzel Boston is the only player with starting experience remaining among UW’s receiver corps.
At Washington, Cook might’ve been able to compete for snaps in the slot, where his main competition would’ve been Kevin Green Jr. who missed the entire 2024 season with injury. Or he could’ve tried to win Hunter’s spot against reserve wide receiver Rashid Williams, who was Hunter’s backup during the past campaign.
However, the Huskies aren’t in a terrible spot despite Cook’s departure. UW signed five freshmen wide receivers — Deji Ajose, Marcus Harris, Chris Lawson, Dezmen Roebuck and Raiden Vines-Bright — as part of its 2025 recruiting class.
Harris, Lawson and Vines-Bright, all composite four-star recruits, enrolled at UW in time for winter quarter, which began on Jan. 6. Washington also has sophomore Audric Harris, who burned his redshirt in 2024, and redshirt freshman Justice Williams, a former four-star prospect and Kalen DeBoer commit who missed the entire season because of injury.
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