Everyone loves the movie Rocky. To not love it means not having a soul. One fan of boxer Rocky Balboa’s rise from nothing to the championship could very well be Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook, and his discussing getting hit by defenders in games sounded a lot like Balboa’s adage, “It’s not how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can GET hit.”
Speaking to Mike Griffith of MLive.com, Cook further elaborated.
“It makes you feel like a football player, you know?” said Cook, asked how it felt to take that many shots during the No. 2-ranked Spartans’ 35-21 win over Air Force.
“Going back to Western (Michigan), I got hit maybe two or three times, (and) Oregon, I didn’t even get hit once,” he said. “I think I needed to get hit like this. It gets you ready for the season, and it allows you to take more hits and to not be as sore.”
Though Spartans fans would probably prefer Cook remain untouched, he isn’t far off. The more you get hit, the quicker you can usually shake it off and rally back stronger. With Michigan State currently sitting at No. 2 in the rankings, Cook can look forward to getting rattled by defenders over the rest of the season, hopefully not suffering any injury in the process.
Michigan State looks to continue a great season when Central Michigan visits East Lansing on Saturday.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
