Brady Cook was unable to sit out Missouri’s homecoming weekend due to an ankle injury. He didn’t even let it stop him from going to the hospital.
The Tigers’ senior quarterback left to get an MRI midway through the matchup with Auburn and returned to the field late in the third quarter. With Mizzou down 17-6, Cook engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to pull off a memorable 21-17 comeback win.
An enthusiastic Cook told the SEC Network, “I came back, and I just knew. I knew we weren’t going to lose this game. Not today, not Homecoming. It wasn’t like this. We weren’t going to lose.” An enthusiastic Cook told SEC Network. After victory.
“Mizzou means so much to me,” Cook continued. “It’s my first time coming out here, getting hurt, getting knocked down, thinking I’m not going to get back in the game, finding a way to express myself, finish it, fight, fight, fight, and we win. It’s emotional right now.”
Cook suffered the injury in the game’s opener, and after a hospital visit, he also had a session at a nearby indoor practice facility, where Missouri coaches wanted to make sure his ankle was functioning properly.
“It was definitely a long time and a half. I never thought I’d be back to play a game again. My stuff was out, my pads were out,” Cook said later. “At the end of the day, we realized we had two and a half games left to play at Pau Field. We were going to find a way.”
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz got choked up after the game talking about his quarterback’s heroics.
“For him to be there and for him to give his body for us is unbelievable and should be an inspiration to everyone who saw it today,” Drinkwitz said.
Chase Daniel, co-host of FS1’s The Facility and former Mizzou QB, was also watching and was impressed with Cook’s effort.
The comeback began when Cook hit Theo Wease Jr. with a 72-yard pass and set up Marcus Carroll’s TD run. Then, over time, Cook led a legacy-building movement that kept the team’s College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Taking control at his own 5-yard line with 4 minutes, 26 seconds left, Cook nursed a sore ankle to convert a third down and then connected with Luther Burden III on fourth-and-5 for another first down. Cook later hit Wease on a third-and-10 drive and found Mekhi Miller inside the 10-yard line with just over a minute left to set up Jamal Roberts’ go-ahead touchdown run with 46 seconds left in the game.
“He could sit down and watch the game from the sidelines or watch it on TV, and it just showed the brotherhood we have here,” said Roberts, who stepped in to fill in for injured starting pitcher Nate Noel.
Cook finished the game with 194 yards passing in less than two quarters. With the win, Missouri improved to 6-1 and officially became bowl eligible for the fourth straight season.
“To end it like that on homecoming means everything,” Cook told KMOV, pounding his chest.
“I decided that no matter what happens, nothing will stop me from coming back. Nothing. Nothing,” he said. “I knew I had three games left to play in front of these fans here at Foro. I could play in this stadium and I wasn’t going to waste it.”
Cook didn’t know what happened while he was away at the hospital. Cell phones were not allowed in the hospital. But he knew his team needed him, and the training staff did everything they could to get him back on the field. Some magic happens.
“I wasn’t going to finish this game,” Cook said. “Mizo deserves it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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