Missouri quarterback Brady Cook signs autographs after his team’s Black and Gold spring game on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri football wants to keep quarterback Brady Cook grounded.
To be clear, that’s different from being on the ground, as in sacked. The Tigers very much don’t want that, so they brought in two starting offensive linemen from the transfer portal this offseason to keep the football kind of pressure off him.
But they don’t exactly want him flying too far from the ground either.
“I’m constantly hammering him with: â€We don’t need a celebrity quarterback, we need a battlefield commander,’” coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Cook, who’s entering his third and final season as Mizzou’s starting signal-caller.
Cemented in that role and more tangibly appreciated by the MU fan base after he was infamously booed near the beginning of last season, Cook’s reputation — and presence — have reached new heights this offseason.
“Brady’s always been a leader,” Drinkwitz said. “I think there’s so much respect for him in that room because people have seen him be consistent — good, bad or indifferent — although last year I didn’t see anybody fly around in helicopters for NIL deals. We’ll see if that affects him any.”
Having traded the blender of Missouri’s past mediocrity for this getting-in-the-chopper kind of regard is an adjustment for the former Chaminade quarterback. Something similar happened on the field, too, over the course of the 2023 season.
Cook finished last season with 3,189 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions, all better results than he produced in 2022. He ran the ball less — 94 attempts for 253 yards in 2023 — but scored more often.
Playing for the first time in offensive coordinator Kirby Moore’s scheme — and with a healthy shoulder, which wasn’t the case in 2022 — Cook unlocked an extended range for his arm.
He raised his average depth of target from 8.5 yards downfield in 2022 to 9.6 yards downfield in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus. Cook finished in the top 20 nationally in completion percentage for throws aimed 20 or more yards downfield and for the PFF grade on that category of throws.
With Cody Schrader out of the college game, Mizzou’s rushing attack is likely to look different in 2024. But barring schematic tweaks, bringing back every receiving option from last year certainly gives the Tigers some appetizing aerial methods of attack.
So tucked in the pocket or rolling outside of it, what does Missouri need Cook to be this season?
Drinkwitz has already nixed “celebrity quarterback” from the list, but he has something to replace it.
“We need him to continue to be a consistent ball distributor,” Drinkwitz said. “One of the reasons for our success offensively was the lack of turnovers. We got to continue that.”
Conversely, one of the barometers for Mizzou’s struggles was also Cook’s turnovers. Interceptions against Louisiana State and Georgia sank the Tigers’ chances of staging comebacks in both of those defeats, making turnover aversion a preseason priority.
“Limiting bad decisions” was one of Cook’s self-described gains over the past few weeks of practices.
That was a brief red flag that arose at the start of preseason camp, when MU’s focus was on red-zone offense, Drinkwitz said. But as camp progressed, Cook reined in his throws, avoiding turnovers in both preseason scrimmages — including two-minute-drill situations.
“That’s been a good theme moving forward,” Drinkwitz said.
An interesting aspect of Cook’s skill set to monitor in 2024 will be how Mizzou asks him — or allows him — to deploy his legs.
“Obviously, we’re going to need (him) to be a tough, physical runner,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s what he’s always been, whether it was his first touchdown, versus Army in his first start or whether it was (against) Ohio State to start the fourth quarter on that big run to put us in the red zone. He’s always been a tough runner.”
But at times last season, Cook’s style of running threatened to jeopardize his health. A hit against Kansas State required him to exit the game briefly after he sprained his knee. Cook seemed to hurt his shoulder during contact against Memphis.
“There’s that fine balance of self-preservation — that’s been a phrase that we’ve talked about,” Moore said. “But there’s some critical moments where Brady did a great job for us carrying the football, and (I) have the opinion that that’ll probably continue a little bit.”
Perhaps most important to Missouri’s fortunes this season, though, will be how often the Tigers can get the ball out of Cook’s hands and in the possession of one of the nation’s most dangerous sets of wide receivers and tight ends.
“He has to take command of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it and the adjustments that are needed,” Moore said. “He needs to be efficient and then aggressively take what the defense gives us. We have some really good personnel on the outside at the tight end position, so if we’re trying to stretch the ball down the field and it’s there, it’s there. If it’s not, right, let’s get to our check-down and get those guys the ball in space because they can make those guys miss as well.”
“I think we did a pretty job of that last year, but with the guys we have in that receiver room, running back room, tight end room, just distributing the ball to them as much as I can, finding ways to let them make plays,” Cook said.
