First and 10: Why Brady Cook, Mizzou could be the SEC's biggest Playoff surprise

1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

It took awhile and nearly cost Eli Drinkwitz his job, but the framework is built now at Missouri. The roadmap is clear and indisputable.

Now, the defining moment: Can this year’s Missouri team — full of expectations and Playoff goals — avoid straying from what worked and become more than a one-hit wonder?

“If you get caught patting yourself on the back for last year, you’re going to be disappointed,” Drinkwitz said late last month. “Nobody here is sitting around staring at the Cotton Bowl trophy.”

It’s like reading a book you’ve already read, Drinkwitz says. A book that starts slow, and just when you think you’ll walk away, it builds momentum and you’re eventually hooked.

Sort of like Drinkwitz’s 4 seasons at Missouri.

Just when it looked like he was destined to follow Barry Odom and Larry Smith and Bob Stull and Woody Widenhofer— and just about every other Mizzou coach not named Gary Pinkel — down the road of it doesn’t work, it did.

Missouri got hot in 2023, and everything Drinkwitz had preached for the previous 3 seasons while the Tigers stumbled around a 17-19 record, started hitting.

Low ego, high output. Embrace your role, and add value. You define you.

Stand on business.

The next thing you know, they’re standing on the field at Jerry World at the end of last season, after beating Ohio State and winning the Cotton Bowl and earning their 11th victory of the season, and it all starts making sense.

The top-20 high school recruiting class, a top-15 portal class. The first 11-win season since 2014, and a real, undeniable understanding of what happens when you follow the plan.

A few weeks later, Missouri — Missouri! — has a handful of players turning heads at the Senior Bowl. A few weeks after that, the Tigers have a school-record 8 players at the NFL Combine — and 3 (DE Darius Robinson, CBs Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Kris Abrams-Draine) are projected top-50 picks.

It’s not a fluke season, or a one-off or a quick drive by. It’s real.

So when you’re re-reading that book to begin another season, you don’t skip chapters. You’re simply reading it faster — and comprehending it quicker through better interpretation — because you’ve already read it before.

Welcome, everyone, to a defining season at Missouri. If you thought 2023 was a book you couldn’t put down, wait until you get a look at 2024.

“These guys have already embraced the things it took us 3 years to build,” Drinkwitz said. “Those things didn’t just happen on a wish. Our players at the Senior Bowl and Combine, they worked their butt off. I can put myself in position to play at an elite level. Our team is seeing that.”

2. The buildout

Everyone in the SEC has similar NIL collectives. The amount of funds, for the most part, isn’t going to allow one program to drastically outspend others.

So it comes to what it always has in the player procurement process: a hot team, and a staff that can reach players and convince them their best road to the NFL — and to a lesser degree (like it or not), their academic and personal development — is through their specific school.

Coaches are salesmen first, coaches second. Always have been, always will be.

Once the foundation is laid and the wins are stacked, the job gets easier. Relatively, of course.

That’s how you land 5-star edge Williams Nwaneri, a top-5 player who ignored Georgia and Alabama and Michigan and LSU and decided to play at Missouri. It’s how former 5-star OT Cayden Green leaves Oklahoma and arrives in Columbia.

How Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll, 2 elite Group of 5 running backs, decided to join what Drinkwitz is building. There’s a track record now, a clear vision of what can be.

Former 5-star wideout Luther Burden III stayed at home 2 years ago and chose Missouri over Alabama, and will begin his junior season as one of the most dangerous players in college football. That’s real and tangible.

It’s an easier sell when Ty’Ron Hopper arrives from the portal and develops into an All-SEC linebacker. Or when WRs Theo Wease and Mookie Cooper have career seasons after transferring.

Or when Cody Schrader arrives from tiny Truman State and becomes the SEC offensive player of the year. Those moves resonate with instant credibility.

That’s how Green and CB Toriano Pride (Clemson), DT Chris McClellan (Florida) and edge Zion Young (Michigan State) — all projected starters — find their way to Mizzou.

It’s why Carroll, who just rushed for a school record 1,350 yards and could’ve transferred to just about any Power 5 school, shows up at Missouri. Why Noel, who had more than 3,000 career rushing yards at App State, joined up, too.

It’s one thing to sell what could be, it’s another watch it play out on the field.

“Everyone’s journey is different,” Drinkwitz said. “What’s important now is the opportunity you have moving forward.”

3. Going further, faster, The Epilogue

This time last year, Missouri rolled into spring practice with uncertainty at the most important position on the field.

Drinkwitz added former Miami blue-chip recruit Jake Garcia from the transfer portal, and 2022 blue-chip high school recruit Sam Horn was healthy and ready to compete for the job. Hell, Drinkwitz was raving about walk-on Dylan Laible, too.

Meanwhile, Brady Cook kept pushing, kept improving — and never gave up the job. There was a candid moment midway through last season when Drinkwitz admitted he has done everything to find another quarterback, and Cook just won’t let it happen.

He responded with a career season, throwing for 3,317 yards and 21 TDs, and adding another 8 rushing TDs. Every tangible passing metric improved under new OC Kirby Moore, and now Cook enters 2024 as a championship-level quarterback.

Championships are won, for the most part, with multi-year starters at quarterback. When you have a 5th-year senior at the position, a guy who grew up in St. Louis and dreamed of playing for Mizzou, big plays and big moments — those 4 or 5 plays that typically determine big games — are never too big.

You win big in the SEC because your quarterback has a rare season. It has been proven season after season.

Jalen Milroe’s terrific development throughout last season. Stetson’s Bennett’s unique big game moxie in 2021-22. Mac Jones’ record-breaking season in 2020. Joe Burrow in 2019, and Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, and on and on it goes.

Cook is primed for a huge season in 2024. So is Missouri.

You don’t need to read the book to figure that out.

4. Building around Beck

The main pitch from Georgia to QB Carson Beck when he was debating returning to Athens or leaving for the NFL, was Georgia’s ability to improve the offense around him.

Georgia added dynamic Florida RB Trevor Etienne and 3 WRs with big-play potential: Colbie Young (Miami), London Humphreys (Vanderbilt) and Michael Jackson III (USC).

But the most important transfer in the passing game may be Stanford TE Benjamin Yurosek. Georgia is loaded at the position with junior Oscar Delp and underclassmen Pearce Spurlin and Lawson Luckie — all 3 former blue-chip recruits.

But Yurosek gives Georgia a legitimate threat to stretch the field in seam throws, and allows the passing game to further stress the defense with another weapon that can reach 2nd- and 3rd-level throws.

Yurosek missed 6 games last season with a shoulder injury, but averaged 12.4 yards per catch in 3 seasons at Stanford. Georgia All-American Brock Bowers averaged 12.8 last season.

5. The Weekly 5

The top 5 odds for SEC players to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy, courtesy of FanDuel.

1. QB Quinn Ewers, Texas (+750)

2. QB Carson Beck, Georgia (+750)

3. QB Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee (+1500)

4. QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama (+1500)

5. QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss (+1500)

6. Your tape is your resume

An NFL scout analyzes a draft-eligible SEC player. This week: Georgia WR Ladd McConkey.

“He took some big strides at the Combine, and not just because he ran well. He looks solid, well put together. The big question is can he take the pounding that he’ll get in this league. Can he physically get separation? He’s not a perimeter guy; he has to play in the slot. There’s no protecting those guys. But he’s explosive and he’s a smart football guy. He knows the position, and he knows how to set up and exploit defensive backs.”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and 1 big thing: projected 2024 regular season win totals, via FanDuel.

1. Georgia: 10.5. Why the lowest total wins number since 2020? Four grinders away from Athens: Clemson (Atlanta), at Alabama, at Texas, at Ole Miss.

2. Texas: 10.5. On the surface, it looks like a safe over. But first time through the SEC will be unique.

3. Ole Miss: 9.5. Rebels shouldn’t be tested until mid-October, but the following month is where the line makes or breaks: at LSU, Oklahoma, Georgia.

4. Alabama: 9.5. Coaching change isn’t the only reason for trepidation in a manageable schedule. The loss of key core players is just as critical.

5. Missouri: 9.5. By far the easiest schedule in the SEC. A lock for the over, even with a loss at Alabama or an upset loss at Texas A&M.

6. Tennessee: 9.5. A first-year starter at quarterback, and a handful of difficult games (NC State in Charlotte, at Oklahoma, at Georgia, Alabama).

7. LSU: 9.5. The schedule sets up for a potential Playoff run if the defense gets fixed. If it doesn’t, USC may score 40 in Week 1.

8. Oklahoma: 7.5. Here’s the difference-maker: a 3-game stretch to finish the season (at Missouri, Alabama, at LSU) that could push the under.

9. Texas A&M: 8.5. Fortunate schedule could lead to a breakout season with a talented roster. The 4 most difficult games are all in College Station: Notre Dame, Missouri, LSU, Texas.

10. Kentucky: 6.5. A difficult schedule that includes games against the SEC’s 2 best teams (Georgia, at Texas), with a new QB and new offensive coordinator.

11. Auburn: 7.5. Let’s begin with Auburn must get better at quarterback (whoever plays). Then add this: at Georgia, at Missouri, at Alabama.

12. Florida: 5.5. The toughest schedule in the nation. The most difficult SEC schedule, and non-conference games against Miami, UCF and at Florida State.

13. South Carolina: 5.5. The schedule is somewhat manageable (LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri all at home), but Gamecocks will need an upset to hit the over and reach the postseason.

14. Arkansas: 5.5. If Hogs can win at Oklahoma State in Week 2, they have a strong chance to hit the over despite a difficult schedule (Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas all at home).

15. Mississippi State: 4.5: New coach, depleted roster, and a road schedule that includes games at Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss, and a home game against Missouri.

16. Vanderbilt: 2.5. It’s all about the non-conference schedule. Can Vandy win 3 from Virginia Tech (Nashville), Alcorn State, at Georgia State and Ball State to push the over?

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: Let’s say Billy Napier doesn’t make it at Florida. Who should the Gators hire to replace him? — Daniel Brownfield, Orlando.

Daniel:

I’m not completely sold on Napier’s demise. In fact, I could see everything from SEC coach of the year, to being fired in the first month of the season. The talent is better on both sides of the ball, the team is older and more experienced, and the offense should be more consistent and have the ability to make accurate 2nd- and 3rd-level throws.

But let’s not sugarcoat it: A loss to Miami in the opener can derail everything. If it goes south, and if Florida has its 4th straight losing season since the 1930s, the program will be looking for its 5th coach in 15 years.

Now more than ever, Florida needs a coach who knows the SEC, is an elite recruiter (both high school and transfer portal) and an unwavering game day tactician. It needs a dynamic, charismatic coach that can trade blows with Mike Norvell of FSU and Mario Cristobal of Miami — and everyone else in the SEC — and win.

Translation: Lane Kiffin.

The SEC is headed into the unchartered waters of (more) conference expansion and a partnership of sorts with the Big Ten. The college football world is drastically changing, rules and structure of years past now long in the rearview.

Florida must hire a coach who not only thrives within the new world, but who reaches young people — and develops players when they arrive on campus — like never before. Kiffin has proven, over and over at Ole Miss, that he’s not the coach he once was.

He’s now among the elite of the game, and deserves a blueblood job.

9. Numbers

9.5. Texas A&M lost 3 critical full- or part-time starters from the defensive line from the transfer portal — Walter Nolen, LT Overton, Fadil Diggs — but quietly added one of the top edge rushers in the portal.

Cashius Howell, who had 7 sacks in his last 6 games at Bowling Green — and 9.5 for the season — is the perfect fit for new coach Mike Elko’s multiple front defense. Howell and Purdue transfer Nic Scourton (10 sacks in 2023) give the Aggies and edge rusher and an anchor end with pass rush skills.

The staff believes Howell will have the same impact at Texas A&M that Josaiah Stewart had at Michigan in 2023. Stewart was an elite pass rusher at Coastal Carolina, and entered the portal after the 2022 season.

He had 5.5 sacks for Michigan last season as part of a deep defensive front, and made the play of the Rose Bowl semifinal when he bull rushed Alabama RT JC Latham into QB Jalen Milroe on the final play of the game to thwart a potential game-tying touchdown.

10. Quote to note

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer on the 20-player transfer portal class: “It’s very evident there’s a maturity and a hunger with this group. There was already with people that were returning off last year’s team, and the maturity has increased, and the hunger has increased, with the guys we brought in.”