
Other than a game against Arkansas, Saturday will be hopeful a celebration of all that Mizzou football’s graduating class has helped accomplish in their time with the Tigers.
In a literal sense, Memorial Stadium (which wouldn’t have Faurot Field added on to its name until 1972) was built almost a century ago, opening in 1926.
However, this Saturday, when Faurot Field will host a sellout crowd on Senior Day for the 13th consecutive home game, the atmosphere will have been built by the men in black … and gold.
27 Tigers will walk on Senior Day this Saturday, many of whom helped vault Mizzou to national prominence last season and continued the high-level success this season.
Even though the 2024 campaign fell short of preseason expectations — ones that projected a trip the the College Football Playoff — a win over Arkansas and whomever its bowl game opponent is will mark back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in MU football history.
Within that group of 27 are five players that have been with the program since Drinkwitz’s first season in 2020 — punter Luke Bauer, quarterback Brady Cook, center Drake Heismeyer, linebacker Will Norris and defensive end Johnny Walker, Jr. All of them committed to Mizzou when the program was nowhere near the heights it would ultimately reach — heck, they remained committed despite a head coaching change. Their loyalty eventually paid off.
“They didn’t choose (Mizzou) because of sold-out crowds. They didn’t choose it because of what it is now,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “They chose it because they believed it would become that. And they worked really hard for five, six, seven years, all of them, to get it to this point. And so, I’m really, really proud of this class.”
Bauer, Cook and Walker all achieved starting roles since, at the very least, the beginning of last season. Heismeyer and Norris, however, haven’t seen the field nearly as much in their five seasons with the program. However, that hasn’t seemed to bother them, especially Heismeyer.
“It just means a lot to me, especially being an in-state kid, to really be able to put on for the St. Louis area and the whole state itself,” Heismeyer said on Nov. 19.
Missouri offensive lineman Drake Heismeyer (69) carries the American flag onto the field before a game against Murray State on Thursday, August 29, 2024, at Faurot Field. (Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation)
He also said something at the podium that gained a lot of understandably positive attention from outsiders. A native of St. Charles, Mo. majoring in mechanical engineering, several aspects of MU outside of football seemed to be of great importance to him…
“I’m not in it for the money. I’m not doing it for the fame. I love the school,” Heismeyer said. “I want to get a degree from the University of Missouri. That means a lot to me.”
…which necessitated a comment from Drinkwitz, albeit out of love.
“I just remind him that he’s not famous or rich,” Drinkwitz said, “but he did it for the University of Missouri.”
Even though Heismeyer rode the bench for much of his time in Columbia, he was elevated into a starting role this season after Connor Tollison sustained a season-ending knee injury against Oklahoma on Nov. 9. Norris, on the other hand, has never seen the field as a starter since 2020. The linebacker has played exclusively on special teams during his time with the program, and his most well-known moment on the football field was running into Kentucky punter Colin Goodfellow in 2022, which not only sealed a Wildcat victory, but enacted a rule change where there would be no more “running-into-/roughing-the-kicker fouls if the kicker is displaced more than 5 yards from position at the snap”.
However, the Columbia native and former Rock Bridge Bruin seemed content with how his career played out, even if it wasn’t what it was supposed to be when he arrived four years ago.
“Obviously, when I came here, I expected to play a lot of linebacker. It didn’t work out for me,” Norris said. “But I carved my role out on special teams. A lot of people maybe weren’t cool with that and left through the portal, but it’s something that meant a lot to me being a part of this team, going out there in the black and gold.”
“I never really saw myself leaving.”
Unlike Norris, who attended high school less than a 10-minute drive from Faurot Field, Walker, a Florida native, said he thought Missouri was where Mississippi was before he enrolled at MU. But since 2020, Walker is one of the several representations of those who’ve endured the highs and lows under Drinkwitz, ultimately turning into a star. Now, he’ll end his collegiate career not just Mizzou-made, but one of the ones who lifted the program out of mediocrity and into the national spotlight.
“I’m a true son,” Walker said, “and I’m gonna try to fight the tears (on Saturday).”
Missouri defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. (15) celebrates tackling Alabama punt returner Ryan Williams (2) in the first half of a game against Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (CAL TOBIAS/ROCK M NATION)
But there are few truer sons than Cook, who grew up a Mizzou fan in the St. Louis metro area. He’ll end his Tiger career as one of the most decorated quarterbacks in program history. It won’t be just for the fact that he won frequently, it’s how he won that will be remembered. After gutting through injuries amidst a lowly 2022 campaign, Cook was at the center of public ire entering 2023, only to lead Mizzou to one of its greatest seasons ever. His encore act was a campaign that saw him win contests through even more injuries, which included an epic comeback on Homecoming after Cook returned from the hospital mid-game.
When asked about the legacy he wanted to leave at Mizzou, he said he wanted to go out as “a winner”.
“I had a vision,” Cook said. “I believed it. I could see it. I knew it was there. It took a lot of different moves and adversity to get there. And I feel like we go win this one, win the bowl game, I feel like I can confidently say I left my legacy as a winner.”
He also gave a heartfelt message regarding the place that’s taken him to the highest of peaks and the lowest of valleys.
“It’s my life,” Cook said of what the program has come to mean for him. “It’s truly my home, my family. I feel like I belong here. It’s where I grew up. It’s where I really learned the game of football. It’s where I got to live out my dream.”
Senior Week
Grateful for it all
See y’all Saturday for one last show in Faurot #MIZ pic.twitter.com/cpaCkHSatX
— Brady Cook (@qbcook12) November 25, 2024
It won’t just be exclusively seniors walking on Saturday, however. With speculation that wide receiver Luther Burden III, a junior, will forgo his senior season to enter the 2025 NFL Draft, Drinkwitz told reporters that Burden will do something similar to what Nick Bolton did in 2020 as a junior.
“He will walk on Saturday,” Drinkwitz said. “No decisions (on his future) have been made, but that way he has an opportunity to make a decision without thinking that he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to the fans.”
If Saturday proves to be Burden’s last game as a Tiger, he’ll depart Columbia as one of the most electric skill players to grace the Black & Gold. While he wasn’t able to repeat last season’s elite statistical success, Burden put together another extensive highlight reel of jaw-dropping moments this season, with his most recent mind-boggler being a twisting touchdown catch through heavy coverage last week against Mississippi State.
Another legendary aspect of Burden’s career will be the on-field chemistry he and Cook forged over the three seasons they played together. The two have connected on 20 career touchdown passes; only the combination of Chase Daniel and Chase Coffman (25 touchdowns) and Daniel to Jeremy Maclin (22) have more.
“Growing up, watching Chase (Daniel), Jeremy (Maclin), watching all those different connections throughout the years, the great quarterbacks, the great receivers. That was a vision I had,” Cook said. “I remember hearing the name Luther Burden my first couple years here when we recruited him. I remember clicking on his game when he played at East St. Louis versus CBC. I was watching a live stream with Barrett Banister. He took a punt return or a kick return back. We both said, ‘Man, could this be my guy?’ And, sure enough, he was.”
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Cal Tobias/Rock M Nation
As Drinkwitz alluded to on Tuesday, each of the 27 seniors walking on Saturday has contributed to the team’s success in some fashion. That includes wide receiver Mookie Cooper, who underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday. Cooper hadn’t played since Oct. 19 against Auburn; although he won’t be a part of the team, his lasting impact on the program will have literally been electric, as his final play in a Tiger uniform was a 78-yard catch-and-run that helped fuel MU’s comeback over Auburn.
This weekend, emotions will be running high. School spirit will be ever-present, not because it hasn’t been at Faurot Field lately, but for the players that will be playing in front of the home crowd for the final time in their MU careers. No matter what ends up happening on the field, the 27 players being honored before the game will always know that the atmosphere they built was largely in part due to their valiant efforts.
“They all made up what we are today, and it takes all of us. That’s the brotherhood that we’ve built,” Drinkwitz said. “Some have done more, some have done less, but we’ve all contributed this year to what we’ve accomplished, and we’re really grateful for all those guys making that choice.”
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