Connor Cook ups his stock on the way to playoffs

Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook (18) looks to pass during the first quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference football championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

When NFL teams look for quarterbacks, they physical traits they look for is size, arm strength and accuracy. If you can run, that’s a plus to the other traits are what matter the most with NFL personnel people. Mentally they want to know if you are smart enough to read defenses and understand a complex NFL playbook.

Also on the mental side, which is the toughest to tell, they want to know how tough you are mentally. Can you hang in there, grind it out and win in the end when things didn’t really go well for you. That quality goes hand-in-hand with poise and-or ability to function in pressure situations with the game on the line.

Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook checked all the boxes off throughout his college already. It was the poise and mental toughness boxes he checked just before being named the Big Ten Championship Game MVP after the Spartans’ 16-13 win against Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday night.

Statistically, he didn’t have a pretty day against a tough Hawkeyes defense. He went only 16-32 for just 191 yards, didn’t throw a touchdown and did throw and interception on the night. But while having a tough night, he pulled himself and his Spartans together to muster up a game-winning drive.

The drive went 82 yards on 22 plays, with the Spartans going 5-6 on third down. Of those 22 plays, 13 of them went for three yards or less to let you know there were some 3rd-and-longs involved. Beyond converting 3rd-and-longs, Cook was clutch enough to run for a conversion on 4th-and-2 to set up the winning score.

That’s the kind of quarterback NFL teams want behind center so it’s stock up for Cook!