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COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥� Brady Cook will end his college career playing in a manner that he has for significant stretches of his tenure as Missouri鈥檚 starting quarterback: through injuries.

Cook returned from those injuries 鈥� a high ankle sprain and a right wrist issue 鈥� to play the entirety of the Tigers鈥� weekend loss against South Carolina and is in line to continue appearing on the field for Mizzou鈥檚 final two regular-season games and eventual bowl game.

鈥淗e鈥檚 dealing with multiple injuries that aren鈥檛 fully recovered yet,鈥� MU coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 choosing to play 鈥� much like he did several years ago. You鈥檇 expect nothing less from Brady as a leader and a teammate.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 quite several years ago but only two seasons past that Cook played much of the 2022 season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder that required offseason surgery. He also played through the aftermath of a knee hyperextension early in the 2023 season, avoiding both ligament damage and missed time.

That Cook鈥檚 absence against Oklahoma on Nov. 9 was his first missed game since taking over as the Tigers鈥� starter at the end of the 2021 season was less a testament to his ability to stay healthy and more a reflection of how committed he is to taking the field.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to get a lot of these opportunities back 鈥� once-in-a-lifetime deal,鈥� Cook said after the weekend defeat. 鈥淭here鈥檚 only a few games left, so whatever it takes.鈥�

Cook was doubtful to play heading into that contest and was 鈥渘ot as close as I鈥檇 want to be鈥� to 100% healthy, he said.

During the portion of Tuesday鈥檚 practice that was open to reporters for observation 鈥� with Cook鈥檚 injury situation cleared up, Drinkwitz restored traditional media access policies 鈥� the quarterback was participating and throwing. He occasionally flexed and massaged his wrist in between reps.

Impressive as his return was, Cook did have some limitations against the Gamecocks. They didn鈥檛 necessarily show in his stat line: 21 for 31 passing with a touchdown and an interception. But there were little things thrown off.

During warmups, Cook鈥檚 throwing motion looked different 鈥� almost like he was sorting out a way to throw the ball without putting as much strain on his taped-up right wrist. His accuracy and touch didn鈥檛 seem impacted, but there was perhaps a bit of zip missing.

Sure enough, the Tigers expected that to be the concern with Cook鈥檚 capabilities at the present.

鈥淗e can鈥檛 quite snap his wrist the way he needs to, which is why some of the balls get left short,鈥� Drinkwitz said.

The fifth-year coach cited a third-down pass to wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. on Mizzou鈥檚 first drive as an example of Cook鈥檚 wrist-snap hangup affecting a throw. On that play, Cook鈥檚 pass came in short and Wease had to try to scoop in the catch. The play was ruled incomplete, and the Tigers kicked a field goal, though replays raised the question of whether Wease actually made the catch.

There were other plays on which Cook鈥檚 wrist didn鈥檛 seem to be an issue at all: His fourth-down touchdown pass to wideout Luther Burden III was perfectly placed to hit the receiver in stride with the ball where only he could reach it. The loss will mask the luster of that play, despite it being one of the more memorable throws and catches in recent Missouri history.

鈥淔or him to make that throw to Luther was pretty impressive,鈥� Drinkwitz said.

While Cook, despite the injuries, is looking fairly polished on the field, his recovery process over the past few weeks has not been especially smooth.

He called them 鈥渟ome of the longest weeks of my life,鈥� adding that he 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 change it for anything.鈥�

But Drinkwitz, who has regularly gone to bat for his quarterback 鈥� especially after Cook won the competition to retain his starting job ahead of the 2023 season 鈥� has seen the toll that the dual recovery process has taken.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been mentally taxing on him,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been a mental challenge for him to stay positive and have a lot of uncertainty and unknown but try to do the best he can, every day, to try to get as healthy as he can for his teammates and for himself.鈥�

There was another complicating factor added to Cook鈥檚 week of recovery and preparation for South Carolina: Center Connor Tollison, who has almost exclusively been Cook鈥檚 snapper, was ruled out for the season. That brought in Drake Heismeyer as the new center just a handful of days before the game.

Despite his limitations, Cook made sure to get extra reps with Heismeyer so that they could build familiarity. And the new MU center credited that as a reason why his addition seemed rather seamless against the Gamecocks.

鈥淗im and Drew (Pyne, the backup quarterback with whom Heismeyer usually works) are very similar, in those little quirks they like 鈥� because quarterbacks are like that,鈥� Heismeyer said. 鈥淏ut not much (different). We met up a little bit, talked to him a lot during the week, made sure we got some extra snaps in but nothing crazy.鈥�

Cook鈥檚 recovery process is not over, and the team鈥檚 hope is that he can continue to regain strength and mobility in his wrist during the next two weeks while avoiding aggravating or worsening the injury. It seems unlikely that he鈥檒l be back at 100% for Saturday鈥檚 game at Mississippi State, but it seems even more unlikely at this point that Cook will miss another game.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a battler; he makes no excuses,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淰ery fortunate to have him leading our team the next three games.鈥�