Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook takes to the field at the Music City Bowl for his last ride with the program. As others around him have ducked into the transfer portal and opt-out of the postseason parade, Cook has drawn praise from head coach Eli Drinkwitz as a symbol of everything good about college football and the program he has represented for five years.
Brady Cook Draws Praise From Missouri Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz Ahead of Final Game
Cook arrived in Columbia as a three-star quarterback prospect out of Chaminade Prep. He leaves as one of the most winning quarterbacks in Missouri football, achieving the unimaginable against a backdrop of early-career criticism and after battling multiple injuries.
As the Tigers’ star quarterback prepared to suit up for one last time, his head coach delivered a rousing testimony. During the TransPerfect Music City Bowl press conference, Drinkwitz was asked about Cook’s impact on the program during his five-year career. His answer was part poetry, part narrative on the current state of football, but a 100% heartfelt love letter to Cook.
“What a wonderful example of sticking to it, right, of fighting through adversity, ignoring the outside noise, and just focusing on getting better,” Drinkwitz began.
“He’s a young man who from day one wanted to be here and has had to endure, whether it’s been injuries from shoulder, whether it’s been injuries this season, he’s always put the team first. He’s always tried to improve. He’s always tried to be a leader.”
Drinkwitz and Cook will be forever inextricably linked. They both joined the program for the 2020 season and have grown together during their time with Missouri.
When the results didn’t come early in their tenure, fans often turned on the Tigers quarterback, but he endured against the criticism and helped his head coach turn the program around and bring a first double-digit win campaign since 2014. A win in the Music City Bowl will deliver consecutive 10+win seasons for the first time in almost a decade.
There were times when that achievement looked in jeopardy. During the matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks, Cook suffered an injury that looked game-ending, but he continued on, fighting through the pain barrier to try and deliver a result for his team.
“I think back to the South Carolina game,” Drinkwitz continues. “X-rays his wrist. It still shows a break. It’s his call. It’s 100% his call. Can you play? It’s up to you. We would never put you in jeopardy. As long as it was his call, he was going to play. That’s rare these days.”
Cook is indeed a rare commodity in the modern college football era. While several quarterbacks will be in street clothes on the sidlelines of what is essentially a meaningless bowl game, the Missouri QB1 will lead his team into battle against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Music City Bowl.
Drinkwitz explains that commitment is just another part of what makes Cook such a special quarterback, leader, and man.
“For him to be out there this week with so much bright future ahead of him, he wouldn’t miss it because it means something to play with his teammates. It means something to put that Missouri Tigers uniform on. That’s the college football that we all know and love, and believe in and are excited about.”
Ahead of the Music City Bowl, Cook has appeared in 46 games for the program, completing 66.2% of his 1,141 pass attempts. He’s tallied 8,964 passing yards with another 1,208 yards on the ground.
The fifth-year quarterback has totaled 69 touchdowns with just 15 interceptions and, according to Drinkwitz, can take sole possession of the second-most wins as the starting quarterback if he guides Missouri to victory over Iowa.
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The numbers are impressive, but it’s Cook’s legacy as a competitor and leader that will live long after he has left the program.
“He’s had an outstanding career,” Drinkwitz concluded, “and he’s a guy that’s going to be remembered at the university.”
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