Brady Cook in a good spot as Mizzou QB battle continues: ‘Picked up where he left off’
Missouri Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz likes what he’s seeing from quarterback Brady Cook after the first week of fall camp.
“He’s picked up where he left off,” Drinkwitz said, noting Cook had some early struggles but has since settled in well.
While Cook was named Mizzou’s starter one week into last year’s fall camp, Drinkwitz isn’t in a hurry to decide this time around. Coming off a somewhat disappointing 6-7 season in which Missouri ranked 86th nationally in points per game (24.8) and 91st in passing yards per game (212.9), Drinkwitz is examining all options at the most important position.
Redshirt-freshman Sam Horn and sophomore transfer Jake Garcia are in the mix to challenge Cook. Junior Dylan Laible was also mentioned by Drinkwitz in his summation of the Mizzou quarterback position and its progress thus far.
“I think each one of them is gifted with a lot of different aspects of talent,” Drinkwitz said before the start of fall camp. “Each has to play to their own strengths.”
Cook still has the inside track as the incumbent, despite December surgery to repair a torn labrum. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior from St. Louis completed 65% of his passes for 2,724 yards with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2022. He also ran for 585 yards and six scores.
But one area Cook could stand to improve in would be his success with the deep ball. He completed just 40 passes over 20 yards last season, tied for 45th nationally. Drinkwitz said at SEC Media Days that the starter will be whoever most consistently connects on vertical balls. Drinkwitz also mentioned Cook’s first-down efficiency Saturday as an area where improvement is needed.
“I think when you talk about Brady Cook, he’s got experience playing on the field, toughness, speed,” Drinkwitz said. “Has to improve on the question marks from last season.”
Horn, who hit 97 mph as a pitcher for the Missouri baseball team last spring, stands a stout 6-foot-4, 219 pounds. He’s recovered from a forearm strain suffered during baseball season and could push for more time under center than the lone series he received last season against New Mexico State.
Drinkwitz said Horn’s next step is understanding pre-snap movements.
“Obviously, Sam Horn is (a) big, long athlete,” Drinkwitz said. “Runs better than you’d expect. Throws an accurate ball. Has a playmaking ability but lacks experience and game reps that he’s gonna have to create.”
The 6-foot-3, 194-pound Garcia has the most experience of anyone in the room after Cook.
The Miami transfer completed 59.6% of his passes for 803 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions last season. Drinkwitz said after one week of practice that Garcia needs to keep his feet more steady in the pocket moving forward.
“Obviously, Jake Garcia is probably more athletic than you’d give him credit for,” Drinkwitz said. “Has a lot of arm talent. Has played in multiple football games in his career, so has that experience. His (area for growth) is just getting comfortable with the players on this team relative to the wide receiver position.”
Lastly, Drinkwitz said Laible, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound Hutchinson Community College transfer, needs to become a better communicator to make the most of his opportunity. Laible completed 57.3% of his passes for 2,182 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions at Hutchinson last fall.
“Similar to Jake in that he’s got a really live arm,” Drinkwitz said before camp. “But having to get comfortable with the team and the process of how we do things.”
The evolution of Missouri’s quarterback competition will certainly be worth monitoring as fall camp continues.
“Everybody’s had different plays where they’ve looked really good and different plays where they gotta go back and correct it,” Drinkwitz said Saturday. “Whether it’s throwing a touchdown today or whether it’s on first down taking a sack, I mean, both of those plays have got to be consistent.
“Everybody’s got room to improve and everybody has shown growth over the summer.”
