Eli Drinkwitz pleased with first half performance of Brady Cook vs. South Dakota

The Missouri Tigers are trying to figure out who’s going to be their starting quarterback in the early portion of the 2023 campaign. On Thursday night against South Dakota, Brady Cook got his first audition for the job. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He also tacked on a rushing touchdown. Cook is the returning starter for the Tigers and many people expect him to win the starting job soon. After the Tigers took a 28-3 lead into halftime, head coach Eli Drinkwitz spoke with Ashley ShahAhmadi about how pleased he was with Cook’s performance in the first half.

What stood out to him on the offensive side of the football? “Yeah, I thought our ability to control the line of scrimmage and run the football’s been really good. And I thought Brady had some good balls. Down the middle. He’s been able to throw it a little bit vertical. You know, disappointed with the missed field goal, missed opportunity right there on a short field. But, we’re getting better,” the Missouri head coach said.

Last season, Cook completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 2,739 yards, while tossing in 14 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

The Tigers’ head man then confirmed what has been the plan all along for Missouri, that he was going to get Sam Horn reps in the second half of Thursday night’s game. “Yeah, we’re gonna come back out with Sam. That was the plan the whole time. It’ll be Sam in the second half. And we’ll see how it plays out from there,” Drinkwitz said.

Horn happens to be a dominant pitcher in baseball, firing a fastball as fast as 97 miles per hour for the Missouri baseball team. Some experts have even pegged him as a potential first round draft selection in the 2024 MLB Draft. Coming out of Collins Hill (Suwanee, Georgia), Horn was one of the most highly regarded quarterback prospects in the 2022 cycle. He was a four-star prospect and the No. 14 ranked quarterback in the country, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

One of the nicer passes that Cook threw in the first half was to his superstar receiver, Luther Burden. The Tigers fed Burden and he didn’t disappoint, hauling in six catches for 81 receiving yards. The 81 receiving yards were a career-high in a half for the former five-star receiver, who is oozing with jaw-dropping potential.

The Missouri defense was expected to be one of the most impressive units in the SEC coming into this season and they have not disappointed on Thursday evening. The Tigers have looked excellent both in their front seven and in their secondary. Midway through the third quarter, the Missouri defense has only allowed three points.