Brady Cook: The standard is higher than ever at Missouri

Missouri quarterback Brady Cook knows the standard increased after a successful 2023 campaign. In fact, it might be higher than ever.

An 11-2 season with a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State has Tiger fans thinking College Football Playoff and more this year. With Cook under center, plus the talent around him, getting into the bracket isn’t too far fetched.

That’s the mood of everyone in and around Mizzou at least.

“I think everybody in this area is excited,” Cook said at the Manning Passing Academy. “I think the standard and the expectation is higher than ever. And that’s what we want. You know, that’s why we worked so hard. You want that standard to be high so you can go meet it, you can go exceed it. We’re excited to go do it.”

Last year, Cook set career highs with 3,317 yards, 21 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 66.1% completion percentage. He also ran for 319 yards and eight touchdowns.

With wide receiver Luther Burden III lining up outside, it could be one of the best QB-WR duos in the nation. That can carry a team far.

Missouri set up for special 2024 season?

Cook isn’t the only one hyped about the Tigers this season. ESPN’s Greg McElroy was curious why Missouri wasn’t getting more hype throughout the summer.

“There’s a lot of buzz about this team … beating Ohio State in that Cotton Bowl,” McElroy said on Always College Football. “Currently, if you were to ask a bunch of people that are going to prognosticate on what the preseason rankings will look like, I think a lot of people have Missouri, probably within striking distance of the top 10. Maybe in some cases they have them in the top seven or eight. Understandable. 

“They have so many pieces back on offense, Brady Cook is back. They’ve done a great job of making sure that he continues to get more comfortable and more accurate, more decisive, and I think he’s been really really good as the signal caller for the last couple of years.” 

Cook can excel under Eli Drinkwitz and company, it’s just a matter of time according to McElroy. Not to mention all the weapons at his disposal.

“But now I think he’s approaching the point where he could be playing his best football knowing the talented weapons that he has,” McElroy said. “Wide receiver Luther Burden is elite, the best wide receiver in college football coming back this year. Theo Weese, among others, they’re in a great spot. Yes, it will be hard to replace the presence that was Cody Schrader in the run game. 

“But they’ve done a pretty good job. Probably acknowledging they’re not going to take the bell cow approach this year. But you have a couple of running backs that you’re bringing in via the transfer portal that might play a sizable role in you recreating that balanced identity offensively.”