Minnesota Vikings running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu doesn’t want Dalvin Cook to change his identity; he simply wants the rookie to never lose sight of the ultimate goal.

“I want him to understand the focus,” Polamalu said. “If you want to play one year in the NFL, then you’re going to live it this way. But if you want to play a long career -- 10 years -- then you have to do this.”

Distractions often make or break careers in the NFL. Where Cook is from, they can be a catalyst for derailing everything.

Kodak Black, a multiplatinum recording artist who hails from Broward County, Florida, croons chart-topping hits about how the streets surrounding the government-housing development where he was reared in Pompano Beach took away his conscience and put him on a path to incarceration.

On Black’s 2017 megahit “Tunnel Vision,” the Haitian-American raps about needing to remain focused on his goals while eliminating distractions from his periphery.

Lil’ Kodak they don’t like to see you winnin’

They wanna see you in the penitentiary

***

My mama told me, "Boy, make a decision"

Right now I gotta keep a tunnel vision

They sendin’ all my homies on a mission

And I ain’t tryna miss out on these millions

Growing up in neighboring Miami, Cook vibes with Black’s message. The rapper preaches the internal conflict Cook and others have faced trying to “make it out” toward a better life while negative influences threaten to pull them back.

“That’s one of the songs he probably made for everybody down in South Florida, to keep that vision,” Cook told ESPN recently. “If you don’t, you can stray off on the wrong path and it’ll all be gone.”

That sobering reality played out in real time last April. A distinguished, first-round talent in a deep crop of running backs, Cook slipped to the second round of the draft because of off-field concerns. The Vikings traded up to land Florida State’s all-time leading rusher with the 41st overall pick, a risk the franchise took because of the high reward it feels Cook will yield as the heir apparent to Adrian Peterson.

Cook is taking advantage of his second chance. Or is it his first? After all, the circumstances one gets mixed up with during high school and college years don’t often define an entire existence. That’s the conviction those who know the real Dalvin Cook stand by and are willing to defend.

Semantics aside, it’s a chance nonetheless; an opportunity to start fresh as he fills the opening left by Peterson. Part of that opportunity is starting at running back Monday night, when the Vikings host Peterson and his new team from New Orleans.

The chance allows Cook to combat the red flags that brought his character into question -- the arrests and charges that were either dropped or dismissed, leaving no criminal convictions on his record but damaging his reputation in the process. And it's a chance to show why he should’ve been drafted higher.

With blinders on and his tunnel vision narrow, Cook is determined to not let anything or anyone, not even himself, get in the way of achieving what’s at the end.

'You've got to earn the trust'

At the start of rookie minicamp, Cook made a conscious decision to go all-in and show the Vikings coaching staff that “the person y'all drafted is the person y’all are going to get.”

That meant fewer trips back to Miami and engulfing himself in the Vikings playbook.

“I said I’m going to go back to what I know,” Cook said. “When I went to Florida State, I just put my head in the books and went to work. That’s the same thing I said I wanted to do here. I wanted to win the job.”

The determination for which he’s recognized was instilled long before he moved north.

“Miami guys are a different breed with how competitive they are,” New York Giants receiver Travis Rudolph said. “They just have that grind and grit about them. Shows how tough they really are.”

"He's quiet if he doesn't know you. He's still that way. You've got to earn the trust, both ways, and when it opens up, it's pretty good." Kennedy Polamalu
Vikings running backs coach

Rudolph is as close to Cook as any non-family member in Cook's inner circle. The two developed an inseparable bond over three years at Florida State. It was Cook’s family that stood by Rudolph’s side as he grieved the death of his father, who was killed by a stray bullet earlier this year.

NFL personnel departments spend copious resources researching players entering the draft. As much time is spent combing through top plays as it is talking to people associated with a certain prospect.

Getting to know the real Dalvin Cook was a process for Vikings personnel.

“It was like peeling onions,” Polamalu said. “He’s quiet if he doesn’t know you. He’s still that way. You’ve got to earn the trust, both ways, and when it opens up, it’s pretty good.”

What wasn’t hard to spot was Cook’s determination. There might not be a moment that embodies it more than one on Oct. 10, 2015.

Cook had suffered a hamstring injury the week prior against Wake Forest. Those injuries are notable for recurring frequently. It’s likely Cook churned through pain for a while.

The following week, when the Seminoles hosted the Miami Hurricanes, Cook ripped off a 72-yard touchdown run on his first carry and finished the game with 222 yards rushing en route to a win.

“There’s definitely a switch as soon as he steps on the field,” Rudolph said. “He works to win. He leads by example. He works as if he’s not as good as he really is.”

That same mindset earned him an early "in" with veterans in the Vikings locker room. Quarterback Sam Bradford was blown away by Cook’s “uncommon” ability to grasp the scheme and be trusted in pass protection, the latter of which often keeps rookie running backs off the field.

“For him to be able to come in and just grasp the entire playbook, the entire offense, it’s not like we’ve limited him in any ways and created certain packages for him,” Bradford said. “We’ve pretty much thrown everything at him, and he’s shown that he’s able to handle that, which I think is what’s very impressive.”

'Stay in your lane'

If the Vikings' running backs don’t get enough of each other when they’re spending 12- to 16-hour days inside the team’s practice facility, they can pick back up after work ends.

Cook lives in the same apartment complex near the Eden Prairie, Minnesota, headquarters as Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon.

“A family within a family,” McKinnon said.

The fourth-year running back knows the importance of having the ear of a seasoned vet. He greatly valued the lessons he learned from Peterson. Now it’s his turn to guide a young rookie.

“When you’re going to the league, you do have to leave certain people behind because even though y’all are maybe going different directions, it can still alter your focus,” McKinnon said. “I heard from reporters that Dalvin has left some people or whatever, but I wouldn’t doubt that it’s for the better.

“The best mindset to have is stay focused, stay tunnel-vision, stay in your lane.”

Kodak’s influence clearly stretches far beyond South Florida.

Insulating Cook from within is a team effort, and it’s no coincidence that he doesn’t have to look far for leadership. Two lockers to his left is Terence Newman, a 15-year vet and the oldest player on the Vikings roster.

Directly to his right is the player he grew up idolizing.

Before Cook became a high-profile recruit at Miami Central High School, he was just another Dade County kid wanting to be like Teddy Bridgewater.

“Teddy was the face of Miami,” Florida State safety Ermon Lane said. “All of us looked up to him. When he went to Louisville and started balling, everyone was like, ‘We can do that, too,’ because he’s from the same place as us.”

Cook used to watch the wide receiver-turned-signal caller from the stands as Bridgewater carved up defenses at Miami Northwestern.

Now Cook gets a lesson in how to handle adverse situations by observing how Bridgewater is battling to come back from a devastating knee injury.

“You’ve got two kids from the same inner city, from the same circumstances, going through similar situations,” former Miami Central coach Telly Lockette said. “[Bridgewater is] trying to groom him and show him this is how you need to do stuff as a professional.”

'The sky's the limit'

Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman was ahead of Cook in school and set rushing records at both Miami Central and Florida State.

Cook shattered all of them.

Cook's task is bigger this time in filling the void left by Peterson, who rushed for 11,747 yards and 97 touchdowns as a seven-time Pro Bowler and league MVP.

Peterson sees the potential in his successor.

“I think the sky’s the limit for him,” Peterson said.

Cook’s abilities as a rusher haven’t given the Vikings any pause. Neither has how he’ll handle the pressure of stepping into a role of this magnitude.

Where he’s from, the situations and his subsequent choices carried more risk than breaking tackles.

“Being in that pressure, that might not be pressure to us, but to him, the peer pressure he’s gone through -- this is nothing,” Polamalu said. “This is fun. This is a celebration. Him breaking a run, him making plays -- that’s a celebration of all the good decisions he’s made in his life.”

Over time, Cook will further distance himself from the baggage that once cemented itself to his reputation. The one thing he hasn’t let go of is the boulder-sized chip on his shoulder. It’s one carved from doubt, regret and self-actualization, reminding him how he got here and how quickly it all could be taken away.

“I’ll never lose that,” Cook said. “Every time I touch the ball, that’s what it’s all about. It took a lot for me to get here, and there’s still a lot of people trying to get here, so I can’t never get comfortable in myself.”

-- Andrea Adelson and Jordan Raanan contributed to this story.