COLUMBIA, Mo. — There are some plays in football that can only be fully appreciated by a quarterback. Whether it’s a prudent pre-snap adjustment, a passing window threaded like a needle or a wise read, the intricacies of these standout plays don’t always get the explanation they deserve.
So when Missouri quarterback Brady Cook scrambled 31 yards for a rushing touchdown in the second quarter of the No. 9 Tigers’ 38-0 win over Buffalo on Saturday, there was a logical question: What does a quarterback see on a play like that — one that started with him standing comfortably in the pocket and ended with him flipping head-over-heels into the end zone?
"That’s a play we’ve repped a lot,†Cook said. “I don’t want to give away the whole play, but it’s a roll-out pass.â€
The plan for that play, he and MU coach Eli Drinkwitz both explained, is for the quarterback to find tight end Tyler Stephens rolling on a route away from the direction of the rest of the play for an easy completion. But that’s not what happened.
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“Basically, Tyler got caught up at the line,†Cook said. “He wasn’t able to get out on his route and I kind of just replaced him where he should have been. Obviously, it was a huge gap, we were selling roll-out.â€
The hole in the offensive line for him to step up into was a large one. Once he was committed to scrambling, Cook, a run-happy quarterback who finished with 62 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground, had to figure out the right moves for the situation.
“I kind of did that Luther high-step to get past that D-end who almost got me,†Cook said, not-so-modestly comparing his manner of shedding a tackle to playmaker Luther Burden III.
He picked up the next handful of yards in a more humble fashion.
“I started stumblin’ and bumblin’ a little bit,†Cook said.
Once he was steady enough to stay right side up, his eyes moved upfield.
“I saw (running back) Nate Noel working his butt off down at the end zone, down-field blocking, making sure I got in the end zone,†Cook said.
And the quarterback’s verdict?
“That was a fun play,†he said.
His coach knows enough ball to have an appreciation for the improvised choreography, too.
“I think another player who hasn’t had the reps or consistency would have panicked and maybe thrown the ball away,†Drinkwitz said. “He understood where the ball and where the void in the defense was and made a heck of a play.â€
Like that run, Cook’s performance through the first two games of the 2024 season has had its ups and downs.
His rushing ability has been a definite plus, with three touchdowns already on the books — and no ill-advised contact with defenders, save for Saturday’s goal-line tumble.
But Cook’s passing has not been as convincing as it was through the majority of last season, fueling some of the questions that apparently nip at his heels constantly.
Cook was 28 for 36 against Buffalo, a 78% completion percentage. One of those incompletions was his first interception of the 2024 season.
That throw came on a 4th and 6 that flushed Cook from the pocket. His throw toward the middle of the field seemed like more desperate than dumb, given the down and distance, but the outcome nonetheless was a turnover.
Cook, Drinkwitz and the rest of the Mizzou offense left the season-opener with some regret about how deep passing went. Arm strength wasn’t an issue — Drinkwitz pointed to route timing and footwork in the pocket — but it was nonetheless an emphasis in practices leading up to the Buffalo game.
Against the Bulls, Cook wound up 1 for 3 on passes aimed 15 or more yards downfield. That included a much-needed completion to wideout Theo Wease Jr. on a play-action design that gave the receiver time to set up a deep out route.
The stat doesn’t account for another pass interference penalty drawn by a deep shot. Cook followed up one of those through Burden in the opener by targeting Marquis Johnson on a deep post route for a flag and free yards against Buffalo.
Still, there were missed throws. Cook was quick to point those out himself.
“I’m pretty hard on myself, pretty critical of myself,†he said. “There’s a lot of things I can clean up, a lot of things I can do better, a lot of throws I want back. But at the end of the day, we’re scoring points.â€
That’s the kind of nuance that quarterbacking requires, something that also necessitates mention of a record-book positive from Cook: He moved up to sixth in career passing yards with the Tigers, moving past Blaine Gabbert.
With 6,934 now to his name, Cook is close to taking the fifth spot from Jeff Handy, who posted 6,959 from 1991-1994 and James Franklin’s 6,962 set between 2010-2013.
Though a star like Burden, other contributors like Wease, a solid offensive line and a re-tooled running game will have plenty of influence around what Missouri’s offense winds up producing in 2024, there’s a degree to which wins will depend on Cook — like with any quarterback.
And that’s the basis for Drinkwitz’s assessment of his final-year quarterback. If this is the floor, the foundation, the first step — he’s happy.
“We’re 2-0. We scored 38 and 51 (points)… so very efficient,†Drinkwitz said. “(Cook) does a really nice job of tucking it and running it when we need to. I thought he had an excellent read on the deep ball to Marquis that got a penalty. So yeah, I’m pleased with where we’re at. We’re not clicking at 100% just yet. That’s good news, man. That’s really good news for us. I’d hate for us to be as good as we’re going to be all year.â€