Hochman: From Manning Passing Academy, Mizzou QB Brady Cook talks Peyton, Arch and own progress (2024)

For four days each summer, the heartbeat of college football thumps in the heat of Thibodaux, Louisiana.

The Manning family hosts an annual camp for quarterbacks — dozens of college QBs are the counselors, while high-school signal-callers are the campers. The Manning Passing Academy is in its 28th year at Nicholls State University — and they’re all there, from Archie and Peyton to Eli and Cooper to Cooper’s son, current Texas QB Arch Manning. Oh, and Arch’s roommate at camp? Mizzou quarterback Brady Cook, the St. Louis native and potential Heisman candidate this fall. Cook spoke to the Post-Dispatch by phone Friday and shared insight, camp anecdotes and even what tip Peyton Manning gave him.

Q: It’s now your second summer at the Manning Passing Academy. Why do you enjoy it?

Cook: I think there are really three parts to it. First of all, the bonding with other college quarterbacks, it’s pretty unique. You don’t get a lot of opportunities to spend so much time with high-level quarterbacks — I think there are 45 starting college quarterbacks here this year.

And then, the throwing sessions with the Mannings. We throw every day with the Mannings, so taking pieces from them and just spending time with them outside of the throwing sessions, picking their brains.

And then, the third part is really spending time with all these kids. There are 1,300 kids here this week. I’m running drills the whole week, trying to touch as many kids as possible, giving them just a couple of things that they can take home with them and take away from (the camp). So those three things are really most-important this week for me.

Q: Can you share what it’s like interacting with the Mannings?

Cook: I mean, Cooper’s kind of like the class clown — he’s always making jokes, kind of the life of the party in our staff meetings. He’s just that guy at the camp. Eli’s pretty calm, he does his thing — and he’s there for advice and taking us through drills. And then Peyton? He’s the leader. He loves taking us through stuff, getting gritty.

And then Archie is awesome. I mean, he’s run this camp for so long, and he makes sure to tell us the history of it and why it’s so important. He cares. One thing about Archie is, he’ll text us after every game we play (during the season). He texts all the guys that come through the camp. So that sticks out.

Q: With Peyton specifically, what’s your interaction been?

Cook: We spend the whole four days with them, basically. There are moments where it’s just (me and Peyton) maybe outside of the staff room. There are moments where he’s got a small group and is taking us through drills on the field. There are moments where he talks to all the college guys and all of the coaches that come in, just Q&A sessions and stuff like that. So it’s cool learning from these guys, asking them questions.

Q: Is there a certain thing Peyton has taught you this summer?

Cook: One thing I asked him about yesterday was just play-action fakes. When I have to turn my back to the defense and then snap my eyes back down the field and make a throw. So (I asked) — what are you keying on? You have to take your eyes off the defense and then you’ve got to snap your eyes back and see that picture quickly. And one thing he said — if it’s a zone play, where you’ve got zone-type routes, intermediate, throw that first read until they take it away. And then if it’s a top-down, flood-type read, pre-snap you need to have your key on somebody, probably the high-near safety. And as soon as you snap your eyes back, you need to find him immediately and make your decision.

Q: Of the college QBs, who are some of your buddies there?

Cook: I’ve gotten a chance to bond with a lot of them. Riley Leonard (of Notre Dame) is my guy, Will Howard (of Ohio State) is my guy. Graham Mertz from Florida, we spent a lot of time talking last night. Drew Pyne (previously at Notre Dame and Arizona State), obviously he’s at Missouri now, so he’s here with me. It’s a great group of guys — Garrett Greene from West Virginia, Arch Manning, I’m rooming with him this week. So it’s awesome. A great group of guys and we’re just having a ball.

Q: With Pyne, what can you share about what he’ll bring to the Mizzou program?

Cook: It’s been a great fit so far. First of all, he’s a great guy. And he can spin it, too. So having another guy in the room that I can learn from and bounce things off of, it’s huge for me. It’s huge for the team.

Q: After winning the Sugar Bowl, this 2024 Mizzou season should be exciting. Can you put into words your mindset?

Cook: I think the standard and expectation is higher than it’s ever been, which is good. That’s where we want it. We want it to be high, we want to exceed it. So I’m excited, man. The team is shaping up, the spring and summer has gone really smooth. Everyone’s understanding their role, fitting in where they need to. We’re going into training camp pretty pumped up.

Q: Last question, what’s your communication been like with Luther Burden III?

Cook: Oh yeah, we talk every day. Being the No. 1 wide receiver, we spend a lot of time together. So whether it’s in person, FaceTime, text, call, we’re in touch, we’re in communication. Our synergy has only grown.