5 Missouri players to watch against Iowa football in 2024 Music City Bowl

IOWA CITY — Neither team in the 2024 Music City Bowl will be quite at full strength.

In Iowa’s case, the Hawkeyes will be without star running back Kaleb Johnson as he focuses on preparing for the 2025 NFL draft.

In Missouri’s case, the Tigers’ opt-outs include star wide receiver Luther Burden III and right tackle Armand Membou. (Burden could potentially be a first-round selection.)

As for the Missouri players who do appear to be playing in the Music City Bowl, here are five to watch next week in Nashville:

QB Brady Cook

Brady Cook will be wrapping up an accolade-filled five-year career at Missouri in this year’s bowl game.

A team captain for the last three years, Cook has 47 career touchdown passes versus 15 interceptions and has completed 65.8 percent of his passes. That’s in addition to his 19 career rushing touchdowns.

He will be the first Missouri quarterback to start in four consecutive bowl games, according to MU sports information.

The best season of his career was in 2023 when he had 21 touchdowns passes, eight touchdown runs and only six interceptions while averaging nine yards per pass attempt. He was the Cotton Bowl offensive MVP and a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award and the William V. Campbell Trophy.

This year’s numbers — 63.3 percent completion rate with nine touchdown passes, five touchdown runs and two interceptions — do not jump off the page as much, but he still rank in the upper half of qualifying FBS quarterbacks going into bowl play with a 137.6 passer rating.

WR Theo Wease Jr.

As much as Luther Burden III grabbed headlines, Theo Wease Jr. also has been quite the threat for opposing secondaries.

The sixth-year wideout has 55 receptions for a team-high 809 yards going into this year’s Music City Bowl. (The only player with more receptions is Burden with 61.)

Wease, one of Missouri’s permanent team captains this season, was especially impressive in Week 2 against Buffalo. He had 13 receptions for 149 yards — the most for any Missouri receiver in a single game this season.

The Allen, Texas, native began his college career at Oklahoma, where he appeared in 36 games and started 11 in four seasons.

DE Johnny Walker

Johnny Walker has clearly earned the label of being one of the better defensive ends in the SEC.

Walker has team-high 10.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this season. His streak of six straight games with at least 0.5 sacks is the longest in the country heading into postseason bowl games.

Most recently, Walker forced two fumbles that were pivotal in the Tigers’ 28-21 comeback win over Arkansas to close the regular season.

This level of production is not new for Walker. The Tampa, Fla., native was the Cotton Bowl defensive MVP during the Tigers’ 14-3 win over Ohio State. He finished the 2023 season with 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.

DB Daylan Carnell

Daylan Carnell has experienced some highs and lows as one of the Tigers’ starting safeties this season.

Carnell had a 68-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Mississippi State. With that score, he became the first Missouri player to score a defensive touchdown in three consecutive seasons since William Moore did so in the mid-to-late 2000s.

At the same time, Carnell has not always been an efficient piece of the Tigers’ defense. He has allowed 24 receptions on 34 targets — a rate of 70.6 percent — according to Pro Football Focus. That includes at least three receptions in four of Missouri’s last five games.

K Blake Craig

Special teams aficionados, rejoice.

Blake Craig has been one of the more intriguing kickers in the SEC.

Craig does not have the consistency Iowa’s Drew Stevens has boasted, as the SEC kicker has made only 68.8 percent of his field goals this year.

But Craig — formerly the No. 2 kicker in his recruiting class, per Kohl’s Kicking Camps’ rankings — has shown plenty of leg.

His four makes from 50-plus yards is tied for 10th-most nationally (ironically with Iowa’s Stevens and one other player).

His longest make was from 56 yards in the Tigers’ Week 3 win over Boston College. His other 50-plus-yard makes were from 51 yards against Buffalo, 54 yards against Vanderbilt and 51 yards against Auburn.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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