Road to the 2023 USFL Kickoff: Case Cookus talks recovery, relationships, and more

After nearly two years off of football, Philadelphia Stars quarterback Case Cookus, 27, was poised to be the back-up for the 2022 season. But all of that changed in Week 3 when QB Bryan Scott went down with a season-ending knee injury. Cookus, a native of Thousand Oaks, California, was thrust into the starting job and led the Stars to the championship game against the Birmingham Stallions where he completed 17-of-29 passes for 222 pass yards and 3 touchdowns, helping Philadelphia clinch a 23-20 lead in the fourth quarter.

It looked like the stars were aligned for a Philadelphia victory, but with just minutes left in the game, Cookus was sacked, sustained a broken right leg, and was carted off the field. The Stars eventually lost 33-30.

Today, Cookus opens up about his traumatic injury, the lessons he walked away with from last season, his relationship with head coach Bart Andrus, and what fans can expect from the Philadelphia Stars in 2023.

The 2023 USFL Season kicks off on Saturday, April 15 and Sunday, April 16 with four exciting match ups, including a Sunday afternoon showdown you don’t want to miss between the Michigan Panthers and Houston Gamblers at 12:00 PM ET on NBC and Peacock.

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

NBC Sports: I want to pick up where we left off, at last season’s championship game. Because in a way that was the last time the fans saw you. It’s the fourth quarter of the championship game, the Stars are up 23-20 and then you go down with just minutes left in the game. Take me back to that play, what happened?

Case Cookus: The Stallions ended up bringing the pressure off the edge and stepped up and I got tackled from behind. It was an awkward hit and I just kind of landed