Mizzou's Brady Cook Spent Bye Week to Reset, Hone in on Mechanics

Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz and quarterback Brady Cook spoke to the media following the team's bye week.

Sep 21, 2024; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook (12) scrambles during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Missouri Tigers quarterback Brady Cook enjoyed a taste of the experience of a "normal person" over the team's bye week.

After an exhausting win over Vanderbilt in double overtime in Week 4 where Cook threw 37 passes and rushed 11 times, the Tigers took Week 5 off. Next on the schedule: the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies.

"I took Friday and Saturday (off)," Cook said in a press conference Tuesday. "Those are kind of our off days. Everybody gets out and watch ball like like a normal person, and watch College Football GameDay and that was fun."

But even in moments of relaxation, the impending matchup in College Station, Texas A&M hung in the back of Cook's mind. Considering the early season struggles for the Missouri offense, the third-year starter continued to spend time looking for ways to improve.

"I had the call sheet out, had the ready list out," Cook said of his weekend. "There's always things to be doing on a Friday and Saturday where you can't really turn your mind off of it. That's the reality when you got Texas A&M coming up. Your mind never really turns off."

The matchup with Texas A&M will be a significant test for Cook and the rest of Missouri's offense, who have not been pleased with their performance through four weeks. Specifically, on third downs and in the red zone, two key focuses for the team during the bye week.

"There's a lot of different things that can get fixed," Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said, "but if you just fix those issues (offensive execution on third downs and in the red zone), I think everything else kind of falls into place.”

Against Vanderbilt, Missouri was 7-for-17 on third downs. Over the past two weeks, Missouri has been 4-for-8 for scoring touchdowns in the red zone.

Following the win over Vanderbilt, Cook recognized the role he has played in those offensive struggles and what he needs to do to help the unit improve in those areas.

"[It] starts with me and we got to find a way to put the ball in the end zone," Cook said after the game.

In the first four games of 2024, Cook has been off from his 2023 form. Up to this point, Cook has completed 92 passes on 134 attempts for 946 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Without the task of opponent-specific preparation, Cook used practices during the bye week to focus on the fundamentals.

"There's a couple things I was working on, whether it's my ball carries in the pocket, just my rhythm, footwork on certain plays, dialing that in."

Near the top of the list of issues for Cook and the Missouri offense in 2024 has also been the lack of connection and timing on deep passes. The quarterback has completed a mere three of his 14 attempts past 20 yards. The bye week provided Cook and his pass catchers the time to put in plenty of reps together.

"As an offense as a whole, we threw the ball a lot, we got a lot of a lot of good reps," Cook said. "We got good-on-good versus the defense. It was good for our chemistry."

Missouri will hope the extra reps will pay off, looking to bounce back from the shaky showing over Vanderbilt. The Tigers spent some time to reflect on the performance, but we're ready to turn the page shortly after.

"We had the Sunday and Monday to really watch that tape, recover our bodies, flush it," Cook said. "By Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday of last week, and we were pushing forward."

With the bye week behind them, the Missouri offense has a fresh canvas ahead of them to determine the fate of their 2024 season. Still undefeated, the Tigers can drive their destiny with the improvements they make week to week.

Read more Missouri Tigers news:

Limiting Texas A&M's Nic Scourton Major Focus Ahead of Mizzou Matchup
Everything Eli Drinkwitz Said Ahead of Matchup with Texas A&M
Mizzou's Eli Drinkwitz Silences Early-Season Doubts on Brady Cook