Eli Drinkwitz raves about Brady Cook's performance this season, leadership

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook has done a remarkable job of shutting out the outside noise this season. He not only had to compete for his starting job at the beginning of the season, but he’s also had to deal with some unwarranted criticism and boos from his own fans.

On Thursday evening’s edition of the Andy Staples podcast, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz joined him to talk about how much Cook has impressed him in playing at a high level and dealing with all of the adversity.

Eli Drinkwitz on the improvement of Brady Cook

“Well I mean I think that’s as good of a story Brady Cook is and as good of a story Luther Burden is, Cody Schrader, I think what Brady Cook has done in the face of all kinds of noise has been pretty incredible. Including for me. I mean, I made him compete for his job again all of fall camp. I made him compete in the first game for his job. And all he’s done is, ignore the noise, and have a belief in himself. Self-confidence and a belief and said, okay, I’m open to you coaching me,” Drinkwitz said.

Cook has only continued to build on his impressive season in 2022. This year, he’s completed 69.7% of his passes for 2,252 passing yards, while tossing in 15 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Those are a pretty big leap from his numbers in 2022, when he completed 64.8% of his passes for 2,739 yards, while tossing in 14 touchdowns with just seven interceptions.

“I’m open to saying, okay, these are the things that you say you need to see out of me. I’m gonna go attack. One of the biggest criticisms I had was vertical throws down the field. Like, we just weren’t accurate enough down the field last year. And man, he’s accepted that challenge and throws the deep ball with so much confidence now. He’s always been extremely tough. He’s a great leader,” Drinkwitz continued on Thursday night.

Cook has not only performed at an extremely high level as a passer, but he’s churned out 134 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Last season, he gashed opposing defenses for over 580 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

“You could go back to several nights from SEC media days when people were asking about the quarterback. Every one of those guys down there defended Brady Cook. They believe in him. And that’s not to say anything, I mean, Sam Horn is a heck of a quarterback. And part of that competition is Brady doesn’t want to come off the field because he knows if Sam goes on, he may not come off. Brady Cook has been outstanding. Not only as a leader, but as a player just trying to consistently develop and get better. And our team has responded to those players’ work ethic,” Drinkwitz said.

Sam Horn was one of the more highly recruited quarterback prospects in the 2022 cycle. He was rated as the No. 14 quarterback prospect in America, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. In his first taste of limited action against South Dakota this fall, Horn completed three of five passes for 54 passing yards, while tossing in one touchdown and one interception. As a runner, he had three carries for nine yards.

“You know, Michael Jordan used to talk about it all the time. You’ve gotta match my intensity. Well, I think our team’s kind of adopted that with Brady Cook, and D-Rob, and Cody Schrader. Man, we gotta match those guys work ethic. Because it’s second to none,” the Missouri head football coach said.

The Missouri Tigers have a bye week this week. Up next, they’ll face off against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. That one will be played on Saturday, Nov. 4th. Kick time has yet to be determined.