Brady Cook is the heart and soul of number 23 Missouri Tigers offend. Without him against Alabama, the Tigers did nothing.

That was with backup quarterback Drew Pyne at the helm of the offense. Against Alabama, he threw for 42 yards and three interceptions. His performance was certainly disappointing, but the rest of the Tigers never lost faith in the backup quarterback.

Cook’s injury status is still unknown ahead of the Tigers’ matchup with South Carolina, which keeps Pyne in line to start against the Gamecocks.

“We have a lot of confidence that whoever has the best opportunity to win is who’s going to play, and we won’t know anything about Brady until later in the week, but I would anticipate that we’ll be ready for Drew to start,” coach Eli said Drinkwitz.

As Pyne continued to see first-team snaps, he continues to become more comfortable on offense. That was evident against Oklahoma, throwing for three touchdowns with 143 yards attached. All three touchdowns came in the second half in clutch play to give the Tigers a win. His growth also shows in practice, evident to the coaching staff.

“His pocket presence,” Drinkwitz said. “I think it’s harder to replicate the pass rush live as much as anything in college football because we try to be so protective of the quarterback in practice.”

As the Sooners matchup progressed in the second half, so did Pyne. He has become more comfortable in the pocket and the timing and delivery of his throws could not have been better. Didn’t turn the ball over once and did a good job of avoiding pressure when possible.

“The timing of the throws, if everything is happening a little bit faster in the game, and I thought as he settled into the game, he was able to make some throws with more time,” Drinkwitz said.

The coaching staff has recognized Pyne’s growth, but his teammates’ confidence in him hasn’t waned either. Pyne has had moments of success in his past career, moments where he has shown the ability to lead his team and score. Now with Missouri, he has the full confidence of his team, much of which is based on his performance in practice.

“I’ve seen him do it many times before, in camps, practices, countless times before, so I knew he could do it,” running back Nate Noel said. “It’s all about gaining confidence and knowing that he had it all, I mean, we all had his back.”

There is no definitive answer yet regarding the starting quarterback against the Gamecocks. No matter who is at quarterback, they will have a challenge ahead of them. The Gamecock pass rush, one of the best in the nation, is expected to chase the Tiger offensive line and quarterback.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” Drinkwitz said. There was no one to keep it clean, obviously he also broke a new center.”

Missouri begins on the road against South Carolina at 3:15 pm ET on Saturday, November 16 at Williams-Brice Stadium.

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