Four Tigers Join NFL Teams as Undrafted Free Agents
4/26/2025 10:16:00 PM | Football
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Four former Mizzou football student-athletes have agreed to terms with three different NFL organizations to join as undrafted free agents.
Quarterback Brady Cook has agreed to terms with the New York Jets, defensive end Johnny Walker Jr. has agreed to terms with the Denver Broncos and running back Nate Noel and wide receiver Theo Wease Jr. have signed with the Miami Dolphins, respectively.
Brady Cook
Cook, a five-year letterwinner and three-time team captain, was tabbed the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl MVP, 2023 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Offensive MVP and 2024 Music City Bowl MVP during his tenure in Columbia. In 46 career games (39 starts), he completed 746-of-1,139 (.655) passes for 9,013 yards with 49 touchdowns against 15 interceptions. He posted a career pass efficiency rating of 143.53 and rushed 362 times for 1,209 yards (3.34) and 20 touchdowns, while finishing with 10,222 yards of total offense.
The St. Louis product carded a point responsibility total of 424 (49 passing, 20 rushing, five two-point conversions [two rushing and three passing]). He recorded 300-plus yards of total offense in 11 games including a career-high 404 against LSU in 2023. Cook accounted for multiple touchdowns in 26 games including a career-high four on against Vanderbilt (all passing) in 2023. He also threw multiple touchdown passes in 12 games including a career-high four versus the Commodores. In 2,667 career snaps, he threw for 300-plus yards in five games, including a career-high 411 yards against LSU in 2023, and logged 20-plus rushing yards on 19 occasions, including 100-plus yards twice against Tennessee (2022) and Arkansas (2022).
Cook finished his career with a 26-13 record as the Tigers' starting quarterback, which ranked second-most in program history and trailed only Chase Daniel's school record of 30 victories. Additionally, he ranked No. 2 in program history in career passing efficiency rating, No. 3 in passing yards and 200-plus yard passing performances (26), No. 4 in total offense and No. 5 in passing touchdown. Cook became the first quarterback in program history to amass 9,000-plus passing yards and 1,000-plus rushing yards in a career and joined Daniel (2005-08), Brad Smith (2002-05) and Drew Lock (2015-18) as the only players in MU history with 10,000 yards of total offense.
.@qbcook12 is a New York Jet ??#MIZ X @nyjets pic.twitter.com/qiWCvjtMJa
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) April 27, 2025
Nate Noel
Noel played one season at Mizzou after concluding a four-year career at Appalachian State University where he earned consecutive All-Sun Belt honors in 2021 and 2022. In 55 career games (36 starts), Noel rushed 704 times for 3,892 yards (5.53) with 21 touchdowns and logged 65 receptions for 316 yards (4.86). He amassed 4,200 career all-purpose yards and scored 130 career points (21 rushing and one two-point conversion [rushing]).
The Miami, Florida, native rushed for 50-plus yards in 30 games, while topping the 100-plus yard plateau on the ground 17 times, including a career-best 199 yards against Vanderbilt in 2024. He secured 10-plus rushes on 38 occasions and 20-plus rushes 10 times. Noel registered a career-long 70-yard touchdown jaunt versus Georgia Southern in 2020 and carded three multi-rushing touchdown games against North Carolina (2, 2022 & 2023) and Georgia Southern (3, 2022).
Noel added 18 games with two-plus pass receptions and nine contests with 15-plus receiving yards, including a career-high 10 receptions for 50 yards versus Texas State in 2022. He concluded his career with 500-plus rushing yards and three-plus rushing touchdowns in five different seasons.
.@NNoel_2 is a Miami Dolphin ??#MIZ X @MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/MEcMWwjxSp
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) April 27, 2025
Johnny Walker Jr.
Walker Jr., a five-year letterwinner, and Second Team All-SEC selection, compiled 103 tackles, 26.0 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, one pass breakups, six caused fumbles, one fumble recovery and 15 quarterback pressures in 40 career games (25 starts). He posted 28 games with two-plus tackles and four contests with five-plus tackles, including a career-high 11 stops against Arkansas in 2024. Walker Jr. recorded 1.5-plus tackles for loss on nine different occasions with a career-best 2.0 versus Kentucky (2023), Buffalo (2024), Alabama (2024), South Carolina (2024), and Iowa (2024).
The Tampa, Florida, product secured 1.0 sack 16 times, including a career-high 2.0 against Alabama (2024) and Iowa (2024), and notched a career-best two caused fumbles against Arkansas in 2024. He also notched a caused fumble against Memphis (2023), South Carolina (2023 & 2024), and Ohio State (2023). The 2024 team captain secured a fumble recovery versus Oklahoma in 2024 and posted one pass breakup in a contest with Vanderbilt in 2024. Additionally, Walker Jr. earned one quarterback pressure 13 times, including a career-best three against Vanderbilt in 2023.
In 1,604 career snaps, he finished having recorded one-plus tackle in final 29 consecutive contests and graduated ranked seventh on Mizzou's career sack chart.
.@JohnnyW15_ is a Denver Bronco ??#MIZ X @Broncos pic.twitter.com/L5LyXX4QPv
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) April 27, 2025
Theo Wease Jr.
Wease Jr. played two seasons at Mizzou after lettering three years at the University of Oklahoma, earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12 Conference honors in 2020. The 2024 Tigers team captain registered 173 receptions for 2,610 yards (15.09) with 20 touchdowns in 62 career games (43 starts). He concluded his career with four touchdown receptions in four different seasons (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024) and finished his career riding a 27-game consecutive reception streak.
The Allen, Texas, native tallied two-plus receptions in 41 contests and five-plus catches 12 times. Additionally, he recorded a career-best 13 receptions for 149 yards against Buffalo in 2024. Wease Jr. added 50-plus receiving yards in 23 games and 100-plus receiving yards five times against Buffalo (149 in 2024), Texas Tech (123 in 2022), Vanderbilt (118 in 2023), Texas Tech (105 in 2020) and Arkansas (100 in 2024). He also tallied a career-long 77-yard touchdown reception from Cook in a contest with Florida in 2023.
Wease Jr. teamed with wide receiver Luther Burden III in 2023 and 2024 to become the first Mizzou duo to achieve 600-plus receiving yards in back-to-back seasons since Emanuel Hall and Johnathon Johnson did so in 2017 (817 & 724) and 2018 (828 & 737).
.@_TheoWeaseJr is a Miami Dolphin ?? #MIZ X @MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/GxID1FvwbO
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) April 27, 2025
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