Eli Drinkwitz identifies area he wants to see Brady Cook improve

Just because Brady Cook spent 2022 as Missouri‘s starting quarterback, that doesn’t mean the job is guaranteed for him heading into the new season.

Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz hasn’t named an outright starter to this point in fall camp, but Cook is progressing at a steady pace to the point where it’s hard to ignore him as a potential favorite to retake the job in 2023.

“I thought he did a nice job being efficient throwing the football. Obviously, his leadership capabilities were voted on to be a team captain by his teammates. He’s very steady and knows the offense,” Drinkwitz said of Cook after Mizzou’s Saturday scrimmage.

“He can digest plays as a smart and disciplined decision-maker. … Just continuing to build on that will start to show up more when we start getting into a gameplan specific.”

Cook finished last season throwing 2,739 yards (eighth best in the SEC), 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. But, the Tigers finished the season 6-7 under Cook’s leadership last season, and that’s become the unfortunate standard at Missouri under Drinkwitz.

As Mizzou’s starting quarterback, Cook is 6-8 as a starter dating back to his appearance in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl. Despite this, as Drinkwitz said, he was voted as a team captain by his peers for the second consecutive year.

Still, Cook has yet to be named the outright starter heading into the final stages of fall camp. Drinkwitz previously said that there isn’t a clear starter in his eyes. He’s also not worried about naming one by the time the season begins.

“I think in this day and age in college football, I think you can very easily see a couple of quarterbacks play in the first couple of games and let the play on the field decide it,” Drinkwitz said when asked about a depth chart timeline.

The other quarterbacks, former Miami backup Jake Garcia and redshirt freshman Sam Horn, will also figure into the lineup alongside Cook throughout the early portion of the season.

Missouri will kick its 2023 season off on August 31 against South Dakota, and will also compete against Middle Tennessee State and Memphis during three of the first four weeks of the season before diving into conference play in late September. That gives Drinkwitz time to share snaps under center and find a true starter before starting the bulk of their SEC schedule.

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