• Faith: Christian
• Career: Athlete
• Birthday:  August 19, 1988

Kirk Cousins is a football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft as a backup to fellow rookie Robert Griffin III. Cousins occasionally appeared in games during his first three seasons before replacing Griffin after an injury in 2015, where he remained the team’s starter until 2017.

With the Redskins, Cousins set numerous franchise records and was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl. After two years of signing franchise tags and being unable to agree with the team on a long-term deal, Cousins signed a fully guaranteed three-year $84 million contract with the Vikings as a free agent in 2018. He ranks fifth all-time in completion percentage with at least 1,500 pass attempts and is seventh in the NFL’s all-time regular season career passer rating.

Cousins was born in Barrington, Illinois, in 1988. He attended Holland Christian High School in Holland, Michigan, where he starred in baseball, football, and basketball for the Maroons athletic teams. He broke his ankle his junior year and was forced to attend camps in order to make impressions with recruiting colleges. Cousins finished his high school football career with 3,204 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. After high school, Cousins was set to sign with Western Michigan or Toledo until Mark Dantonio became the head coach at Michigan State in 2007.

After Dantonio failed to sign his top targets at quarterback, he offered Cousins a scholarship, which he accepted. He also participated in the Athletes in Actions sports ministry. Cousins redshirted for the 2007 season, but in 2008, he spent the season as the backup quarterback to Brian Hoyer. He played in five games, passing for a total of 310 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. In 2009, he competed for and won the starting quarterback position against teammate Keith Nichol. He led Michigan State to a 6-7 season with 19 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and 2,680 passing yards in 12 games. The following year, he led Michigan State to an 11-2 record and a share of the Big Ten Championship.

What religion is Kirk Cousins?

Kirk Cousins is a practicing Evangelical Christian. When asked about living out his faith in the NFL spotlight, Cousins shared in a previous interview about the discipline involved in staying consistent in his Christian walk. He said, “The spiritual disciplines are so important. You never want to ignore the fact that you need to be spending time in prayer, spending time in Scripture, spending time with God, listening to God, and trying to hear from Him. And have this daily walk with Him where it’s not compartmentalized to a Sunday church service. But it’s a daily life living with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and so that’s where I think it begins.”

Cousins added, “I think it’s also important to find community with other believers. So in a football locker room, identifying who are the guys that want to do the same and how can we engage together in a Bible study, in a prayer time, and as the Bible says in Proverbs 27, how can we sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron.”