Notes: Brady Cook, offense address media before Week 1 matchup against Louisiana Tech

With Mizzou Football’s opening kickoff only three nights away, members of the offense met with the media and gave their thoughts on Thursday’s matchup and what it means to them:

Brady Cook | Quarterback

• “It’s a true honor. It’s something a year ago I couldn’t imagine, but at the same time, I can because I put in a lot of work to gain the trust of my teammates.” On being Missouri’s week one starting quarterback
• “Success looks like a win for Mizzou. That’s my main focus. I don’t have any personal goals, stats, accolades or anything like that.”
• “I spent my whole football career up to this point working to get here. I wasn’t ready to thrown in the towel and just give up this opportunity I had.” On why he stuck around at Missouri
• “I would say [my] defensive ID and the mental side of the game. It slowed down a little bit for me. My first couple games out there last year felt fast and against Georgia, it felt really fast. It’s just starting to kind of slow down for me.” On what he has improved upon this offseason
• “Luther’s a pretty quiet kid. I think he processes all of [the expectations] pretty well. I think he enjoys it… We were walking back from practice yesterday and I asked [Luther] ‘hey man, you ready to go?’ He said ‘heck yeah’, so he’s ready [and] excited.”
• “I think it’s going to be important for me to understand what they’re doing pressure-wise and with their zone defense behind it. As long as I’m confident in what they’re doing and get a feel for what they’re doing pre-snap, I think everything will work out for us.” On Louisiana Tech’s defense
• “Everybody has been great about it and continue to compete and push each other. We’ve all grown closer and we’re all great teammates.” On the backup quarterback competition
• “We’ve got a lot of different guys, different talents [and] speeds. All the chemistry has been great.” On his relationship with the wide receiver group
• “I’m excited. Shoot, I mean I’ve been waiting for this a long time. I’m just excited. It’s going to be a fun, fun week.” On his anticipation for Thursday night

Mookie Cooper | Wide Receiver

• “On of the main things [is] it’s a lot more room out there ... I like it really.” On the transition from the slot position to the outside
• “La Tech [has] a lot of trap [defense] going on right now ... sometimes they line up in man [coverage], so those are some of the key things to emphasize right now.”
• “[Brady’s] grown up a lot... He got more serious about his game and I can tell he’s dialed in and ready to lead this team.”
• “Being physical, especially being out there on the perimeter now ... that was one of the key things I wanted to make emphasis on.” On what improvement he's seen from himself
• “I think [Burden] is going to ball. I think he’s still young, a freshman, but he does have the talent and he’s ready to go compete in this conference right now.”
• “I’m like 195% right now, close to 200%.” On how he feels physically after dealing with nagging injuries last season

Barrett Banister | Wide Receiver

• “It’s bittersweet. I’ve had an incredible five, almost six years here and I’m really grateful to go out and play with this group of guys. [I’m] sure it's going to be a great environment.” On how he feels entering his final season
• “I think the first thing is to make the plays that we’re supposed to make. You don’t want to have [Brady] going out there throwing good passes [and] we drop them ... just do what we’re supposed to do.” On what the wide receiver room needs to do Thursday night
• “I think the biggest thing we’ve talked about is you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training ... So we’re trying to prepare the best we can every day and then whenever it’s time to go, we’re all going to go together.”
• “Mekhi [Miller] is a great learner and I think he does a really good job of learning from the peers around him ... He’s putting himself in a position. Making the depth chart as a true freshman is a great honor.”
• “We’ve been competing and the proverb says ‘iron sharpens iron,’ so we want to work well with each other. We’re trying to put our pieces together and create a great puzzle.” On the competition within the wide receiver room
• “I think the biggest thing for us is we got to block on the perimeter [and] block for the run game. That’s going to be huge for us. Can’t win in this conference without being able to run the football.”

Kibet Chepyator | Tight End

• “I think we need to bring a little bit of everything. [La Tech has] some good defensive lineman [and] good primary players. In all aspects of our game, we hav etc bring our A game.” On what the tight ends need to do to be successful
• “Ever since {Tyler Stephens] got here, we kind of been working as a team, helping each other out with looks and certain techniques.”
• “It means the world to me. You dream all your life to work hard and finally had [my] name called, so I’m trying to make the most of it.” On what it means to go from a walk-on to a starter for the opening week