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Cook is eager to get back to Mizzou

One of the least talked about commits for the Class of 2017 is easily Case Cook (Carrollton High School, Carrollton, Ga.,), but Cook could potentially come in and be an impact player the moment he steps on the field for the Tigers.

One of the reasons that Cook is not talked about as much as other prospects is due to the fact that he committed way back in July and never wavered on his commitment.

“I went up to Missouri and I really enjoyed my time,” Cook said. “I felt like it was a good place for me and I really liked the coaches, especially offensive line coach Glen Elarbee. Just going up there, it really felt like home to me. Then it took me a couple days to get away and make sure that was it, and then I committed. I just think it is the right place for me.”

Cook knew that he wanted to get his recruitment over with before he started his senior football season due to the fact that his Carrollton High team had a good chance of making it to the state finals.

“I wanted to try and commit before the season started because once our season started, I wanted my focus to solely be on high school football because our goal was to win the state championship,” Cook told PowerMizzou.com. “That’s what I wanted my focus to be towards.”

The Carrollton Trojans ended up losing in the quarterfinals, but they surpassed all expectations. Cook, who is basically a microcosm of his high school team, is used to being overlooked and undervalued. The three-star is the third best center in the entire country, but he says that even with that being the case, he still feels that all of the Missouri commits are being overlooked and that they will let their play on the field do all the talking.

“I think that sometimes we think that we might be a little undervalued, but now being committed to Missouri, that is who we are loyal to and I think that all of us are definitely good enough to play on that level and be very successful,” Cook said. “I’m glad that we have the group of guys that we do and I’m excited to get up there. Not to say that Missouri got a lot of steals, but we’ve got some really good guys coming in.”

Cook, who has not visited Columbia since the Missouri-Vanderbilt game, is excited to get back on campus this upcoming weekend and show his mother the school that he feels is the perfect fit for not only his football talents, but also his academic endeavors.

“I’m definitely 100% committed, I am going to Mizzou, no doubt about it,” Cook said. “This official visit is mainly for my parents so they can see the campus, because the first time I went and committed, I was just with my dad, and so this is really for my mom so that they both can see everything, so that they feel more comfortable, because I feel comfortable there.”

Not only will Cook be showing his mother around campus, but he is also ready to recruit some other prospects to join the Class of 2017. Cook did say that even though he feels that he can recruit, fellow commit Jamal Brooks will be the one that does most of the talking.

“I’ll recruit the guys that are visiting with me, but I’m going to let Jamal [Brooks] handle most of it," Cook said. "He loves doing that type of stuff; he loves trying to get people to commit. I’ll do my share, but I’m sure he is going to take care of the rest for me.”

The way that Cook spoke of Brooks, one would think they've been friends for their entire lives, but they haven't. Cook spoke of other commits the same way, and when asked why, Cook immediately responded that they are already a family.

“We are a tight-knit group. It’s not that Missouri is telling us anything special, it’s just that we are a bunch of guys that know how to play the game and we want to build something that is special," Cook said. "I think that us being from all over the country makes that even more special, because we don’t know one another, like we’re close now, but we all live different lives, but we are all connected now by Mizzou and football.”

The connection will only grow stronger this weekend when Cook gets to reunite with Brooks and the rest of the gang on campus for their official visits.

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