COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 A boy who high-fived Mizzou football players on their way onto Faurot Field, dreaming that someday he鈥檇 be one of them. A recruit who committed to a school in a state he couldn鈥檛 quite pinpoint on a map. A player who bucked the prevailing view of his peers鈥 priorities to chase a degree more than playing time.
All three 鈥 quarterback Brady Cook, defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. and center Drake Heismeyer 鈥 were part of Missouri鈥檚 2020 recruiting class, the first to sign with the program under coach Eli Drinkwitz.
All three have stuck around for his first five seasons in Columbia, three mediocre campaigns and two on the national radar. And all three will be among the 27 players honored Saturday during the Tigers鈥 senior day ceremony.
Those honorees will be a group emblematic of what modern college football is now. There will be a small bunch who spent their entire careers at MU, including one 鈥 wide receiver Luther Burden III 鈥 widely expected to be cutting that career short to land in the first round of the NFL draft.
There will be some who transferred to Mizzou at some other juncture in their career, whether after a redshirt season spent elsewhere 鈥 such as wideout Mookie Cooper 鈥 or a longer tenure at a smaller school that set up a final year in a brighter spotlight 鈥 such as running back Nate Noel.
Cook, Walker and Heismeyer are set to start for Missouri (8-3 overall, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) against Arkansas (6-5, 3-4) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday after the ceremony, playing in front of the program鈥檚 12th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium.
It鈥檒l be a finale representative of what their generation has spurred in Columbia 鈥 something different from what they found upon enrolling nearly five years ago.
鈥淭he group who came here in a coaching transition, they didn鈥檛 choose it because of sold-out crowds,鈥 Drinkwitz said.
鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 choose it because of what it is now. They chose it because they believed it would become that.鈥
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the closest bond you can have: enrolling together, sticking with each other, ups, downs, five years, losing seasons, different coaching changes, a ton of adversity,鈥 Cook added.
鈥淏ut at the same time, a ton of success, a ton of highs, a ton of awesome moments that we鈥檒l always cherish and always remember.鈥
This is the story of Cook, Walker and Heismeyer and how they鈥檒l share a field despite vastly different journeys to that point.
鈥淎ll of them, unique in their own stories, have forged together a really strong brotherhood that makes up the University of Missouri鈥檚 2024 football team,鈥 Drinkwitz said.
Missouri defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. celebrates in a game against Buffalo on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Columbia, Mo.
Walker: 鈥楤lessed to be on the path I鈥檓 on鈥
Johnny Walker Jr. grew up in Tampa, Florida, and committed to MU shortly after Drinkwitz was hired. Signing to play for a Southeastern Conference program was a big deal, but Walker didn鈥檛 quite know what he was getting into 鈥 or where, for that matter.
What did he know about Missouri back in early 2020, when he committed?
鈥淣ot much,鈥 Walker admitted this week. 鈥淚 thought Missouri was where Mississippi was, actually, when I was first coming here.鈥
The Mizzou coaching staff helped him get his bearings by routing him to the weight room. Recruited as a weakside defensive end, Walker didn鈥檛 have the frame to immediately contribute.
鈥淗e was an undersized guy,鈥 said Kevin Peoples, the former MU edge rushers coach who was instrumental in Walker鈥檚 development.
The young defensive end redshirted in 2020 and made just six appearances in 2021 while bulking up. He held a similar role in 2022 until the Tigers closed their season in the Gasparilla Bowl, played in Walker鈥檚 hometown of Tampa.
He got 56 snaps of action in that game 鈥 the exact amount he鈥檇 gotten across the entire regular season. Walker parlayed that into a starting role opposite Darius Robinson, his role model, in 2023. This season, Walker retained that responsibility, leading the team in sacks and as one of five team captains.
It all adds up to three years spent largely in the weight room for two seasons of starting action.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think people ever get to where they think they鈥檙e going,鈥 Walker said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been ups and downs, but ultimately, I鈥檓 blessed to be on the path I鈥檓 on.鈥
He鈥檚 the anchor of Missouri鈥檚 self-nicknamed 鈥淒eath Row Defense,鈥 playing a position that requires violent bursts of speed and strength off the edge. And he doesn鈥檛 expect that demeanor to hold up through Saturday鈥檚 pregame ceremony.
鈥淚t鈥檚 gonna be emotional,鈥 Walker said. 鈥淚鈥檓 gonna want to put it to the side, but I can鈥檛. It鈥檚 my last game at my home 鈥 it鈥檚 a real home for me. I鈥檓 a true son, and I鈥檓 gonna try to fight the tears, but I鈥檓 pretty sure they鈥檙e gonna start coming out.鈥
Heismeyer: 鈥業 don鈥檛 do this for the money.鈥
Drake Heismeyer had quite the itinerary of Midwest schools to visit as an all-state lineman at Francis Howell High. He and his family went to them all, doing their due diligence.
But there only was one program in his state that he鈥檇 grown up hearing about. Picking Mizzou and sticking with his commitment as the school transitioned from Barry Odom to Drinkwitz.
After redshirting in 2020, Heismeyer has appeared in almost all the Tigers鈥 games 鈥 but rarely on offense. Rather, he became a mainstay of the interior of special teams units.
It鈥檚 a role, but not a starting or a glamorous one.
Heismeyer entered 2024 as MU鈥檚 backup center, sitting behind his close friend and longtime roommate Connor Tollison on the depth chart. When Tollison went down with a season-ending injury earlier this month, Heismeyer鈥檚 number was called.
His family felt for Tollison 鈥 winning a starting job because of an injury falls under the definition of bittersweet 鈥 but also:
鈥淭hey were extremely happy,鈥 Heismeyer said. 鈥淚t was a good moment for me to tell them because I know they really want to see me play a lot.鈥
With only a few games left in his collegiate career, he made his first start on Nov. 16, at South Carolina.
鈥淲asn鈥檛 nervous,鈥 Heismeyer said. 鈥淚 thought I was going to be. I had a really good time out there. It鈥檚 my first time really playing in a game, like, the whole time.鈥
He鈥檒l start at the heart of the offensive line Saturday. Senior day will be his first and only start in his home state.
鈥淲hen I committed to Mizzou, I was sold on the school,鈥 Heismeyer said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, I don鈥檛 do this for money. I鈥檓 from the state. I鈥檝e heard Mizzou my whole life. Been here since 2020, I鈥檝e been through the bad years when we were fighting for bowl games.鈥
On top of his football obligations, Heismeyer has studied mechanical engineering 鈥 one of the more rigorous academic programs available at MU.
鈥淚 love the school,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 want to get a degree from the University of Missouri. It means a lot to me.鈥
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook, center, hugs wideout Luther Burden III after Burden caught a touchdown pass from him in a game against New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022, in Columbia, Mo.
Cook: 鈥業 wouldn鈥檛 change a thing.鈥
Where do you start with Brady Cook?
The Chaminade prep product who spent childhood Saturdays in the stands around Faurot Field landed his dream job playing quarterback on that turf. He鈥檚 one win away from hitting 25 as a starter and two away from 20 victories in the last two seasons. Cook needs 242 passing yards to take hold of third on Missouri鈥檚 career leaderboard.
Those are all the sorts of things he imagined when he chose to play for the Tigers during a time of transition.
鈥淲hen I committed here, came here, enrolled here, there was a lot of uncertainty around the program,鈥 Cook said. 鈥淣ew coaching staff, just a lot of uncertainty. I had a vision that I believed in. I could see it. I knew it was there. It took a lot of different lows and different times of adversity to get there.鈥
Oh, what it took.
Cook won his job twice. It wasn鈥檛 until this year that he entered a preseason camp without the pressure of a quarterback competition.
He tore his labrum and played through it in 2022. He hyperextended a knee and played through it in 2023.
He sprained an ankle, went to a hospital and came back to win MU鈥檚 homecoming game this year. A week later, he injured a wrist, missed a game for the first time, then came back to play through the injury as the finish to his career neared.
Cook has had his doubters for the vast majority of his tenure 鈥 some with fair critiques, others oblivious to the gains he made.
鈥淎ll I want to do is play quarterback here,鈥 Cook said after Missouri鈥檚 famous win over Kansas State last season. 鈥淚鈥檇 like everyone else to want me to be the starting quarterback here, too.鈥
But if that sounds like a career defined by the negatives, it isn鈥檛 for the three-year team captain. You can see how it could be about the down sides 鈥 the injuries, the criticism. Has it really been worth all of that?
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 worth it,鈥 Cook said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been through some times. I鈥檝e been through some times here physically, mentally, and I knew this would for sure be worth it.鈥
He even maintained a positive attitude about the lone start he missed 鈥 a chance to play against Oklahoma, a school he wanted to beat so badly that a picture from an old MU-OU game had been his phone background. That game was Mizzou鈥檚 second-to-last home contest this season, which is the positive part 鈥 it could have been the last one, costing Cook his senior day.
鈥淭here鈥檚 always silver linings,鈥 he said.
Saturday, for Cook, will be some of the closing scenes to his quarterbacking dream 鈥 a dream full of twists and turns he never saw coming.
鈥淚 think it was pretty unpredictable,鈥 Cook said.
鈥淵ou know, I鈥檝e just learned so much. I鈥檝e learned so much about football, about life, relationships, being part of a team, being a leader, and I really am grateful for it all. There鈥檚 no way I could鈥檝e predicted this is how my career would have went, but I鈥檓 glad it did. I wouldn鈥檛 change a thing.鈥
