The Jacksonville Jaguars today signed safety Kerry Cooks and linebacker Joseph Tuipala to contracts. Both players spent this spring in the XFL. They are the 57th and 58th players on the team's roster, with the NFL draft coming up this weekend. The Jaguars have nine selections in the draft, which begins at 12:00 noon tomorrow.
Cooks, 27, played for the XFL's Chicago Enforcers. He was originally drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 1998 draft and traded to the Green Bay Packers at midseason. A native of Irving, Texas, the 5-11, 202-pound Cooks started his last 24 games at the University of Iowa.
Tuipala, 24, was with the Las Vegas Outlaws. He spent the 1999 preseason with the Detroit Lions, and after being waived was signed by the New Orleans Saints, splitting the season between the team's practice squad and its 53-man roster. In 1993, Tuipala was recruited by Tom Coughlin at Boston College, though he chose to go to San Diego State, where he was a four-year starter. The 6-1, 240-pounder was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Ridgecrest, Calif.
