COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Like a groundhog popping out for a look at its shadow or fake green trees sprouting across the back of a superstore, Eli Drinkwitz is marking the changing of seasons with an impassioned defense of his starting quarterback.
The Missouri coach backing Brady Cook is borderline tradition at this point, and it happened yet again this week. Calling in to 101 ESPN, Drinkwitz delivered a familiar yet forceful message about the Mizzou quarterback.
鈥淭he outside noise relating to him right now is ridiculous,鈥 . 鈥淧eople need to have their minds checked, and anybody who is suggesting that there鈥檚 an issue at the quarterback position is insane, in my opinion. Like, Brady Cook is an unbelievable player. He didn鈥檛 put us in jeopardy. He didn鈥檛 throw an interception in the last two weeks, and if he had, we wouldn鈥檛 win those two games.
People are also reading…
鈥淐an he play better? Absolutely, just like I can coach better. But to point fingers right now, our fans need to have a reality check on that stuff.鈥
The timing is right, then, for a check on Cook鈥檚 performance. And doing so leads to discovering a blend of subpar statistics but an unblemished record 鈥 a quarterback profile that winds up open to a large degree of interpretation.
Through four games 鈥 the first two of which didn鈥檛 require Cook to play all four quarters, it must be noted 鈥 Cook is 92 of 134 for 946 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception. That鈥檚 a 68.7% completion percentage.
On the ground, he has 26 rushes for 97 yards and four touchdowns.
And as Drinkwitz made sure to point out after the No. 11 Tigers escaped in double overtime against Vanderbilt last week, Cook is 4-0.
But because Cook is an experienced quarterback, evaluation of him is relative 鈥 there are dozens of his past performances on tape and in the stats logs. And the bar for him to look impressive would seemingly be the stretch of prime play he marched into last season.
As many observers have noticed, Cook has not been playing at that level. His yards per game this year (236.5) are below his 2023 mark (255.2). Both his total yards and air yards 鈥 the distance the ball travels before it gets to a receiver 鈥 are down.
More niche metrics also show dips in form. According to Pro Football Focus, Cook鈥檚 completion percentage on throws 20 yards or more downfield has sunk from 46.8% and fourth in the Southeastern Conference to 21.4%. Now-benched Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold is the only SEC QB with a lower mark.
But that鈥檚 not new information 鈥 Missouri鈥檚 struggles with the deep ball are level with red zone operations as the chief offensive concerns of the season鈥檚 first four games. And those red zone problems aren鈥檛 far removed from Cook: He is 0 for 3 on passes within an opponent鈥檚 10-yard line this season.
There are, however, other numerical trends of interest to watch in Cook鈥檚 play.
For one, Mizzou is asking him to throw more this season than it has in his past two campaigns as the starter. Cook has thrown 30 or more passes in every game this season 鈥 even his blowout-shortened showings.
He only crossed that threshold five times last year and on five occasions in 2022 as well. Given the talent within the Tigers receiving corps, asking Cook to throw the ball more often doesn鈥檛 seem like an odd strategy 鈥 but it is a mild departure from his past role.
Cook鈥檚 statistical output isn鈥檛 all that different from what it was for the second half of last season. In his last 11 games, which starts with a road win at Kentucky in 2023, Cook has thrown for 300 or more passing yards just once.
He averaged just 216.7 yards in those 11 games, throwing for 11 touchdowns and five interceptions in that span.
That touchdown to interception ratio of 2.4 is slightly worse than Cook鈥檚 career 3.0 mark. And his average yardage is slightly below his career numbers since starting the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl.
Yet Missouri lost just one of those 11 games: at Georgia.
So what does it mean? Cook鈥檚 numbers are worth watching, but even when they鈥檝e been down, Mizzou has found ways to win.
Memorial Stadium project gets key donation
The Missouri athletics department鈥檚 fundraising efforts for a $250 million renovation of Memorial Stadium鈥檚 north concourse took a key step forward this week, thanks to a $25 million anonymous donation.
The second eight-figure anonymous contribution given to Mizzou for the project is a vital one: It puts the department at $90 million total raised, according to a news release.
Since the project鈥檚 inception, university administration has expected MU athletics to cover half of the renovation鈥檚 cost 鈥 $125 million 鈥 through philanthropy. With anonymous contributions of $50 million and $25 million, plus another $15 million in other donations, new athletics director Laird Veatch and staff are nearly three-quarters of the way there.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for Nov. 30, with the renovations expected to be complete in time for the 2026 football season.