Brady Cook ’20 – QB – New York Jets
On September 19th, Brady Cook made history, becoming the first Chaminade alumnus to make an active NFL roster. Two days later, he would be Tyrod Taylor’s backup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The following week, Brady Cook again backed up Tyrod Taylor in Miami against the Dolphins.
September 19th wasn’t the first time Brady Cook made history. Brady Cook has the third-most passing yards for a Mizzou quarterback ever, with 9,251, only behind notable NFL quarterbacks Drew Lock and Chase Daniel. Brady Cook has the fifth-most passing touchdowns in Mizzou history, with 50, and entered the National Stage in 2023, when he led Mizzou to its best season in over a decade. In 2023, he had 3,340 passing yards, 11th among Power 4 quarterbacks, 21 passing touchdowns, 22nd among Power 4 quarterbacks, and led the Tigers to their first New Year’s Six Bowl Appearance, a 14-3 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl.
Although Brady Cook has yet to throw a pass in the regular season, he represented Chaminade well in the preseason. At Lambeau Field against the Packers, Brady was 6/8, throwing for 62 passing yards, averaging 7.8 yards per attempt, with the Jets crushing the Packers 30-10. Against the Giants, Brady was 6/11 for 74 passing yards and a touchdown. To close out the preseason, Brady was 13/19 for 99 passing yards, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt against the Eagles.
Amar Johnson ‘21 – RB – Los Angeles Chargers
Brady Cook isn’t the only Chaminade alumnus in the midst of their rookie season. Amar Johnson ‘21 made a splash in the preseason, being eighth in rushing yards across the entire league. Amar Johnson was initially signed by the Packers, but was waived after the preseason, and was picked up by the Chargers. He faced off against Brady Cook’s Jets to open the preseason, with 7 carries, for 67 rushing yards, and a touchdown. In the second week of the preseason, Amar showed out again against the Colts, with 7 carries, 22 rushing yards, and a touchdown. In his final game of the preseason, Amar had 8 carries for 26 rushing yards, bringing his preseason total to 115 yards. Amar also showed that when given the opportunity, he can catch the ball too, as he had 2 receptions for 21 yards across the preseason.
In college, at South Dakota State, Amar was a member of the 2022 and 2023 FCS National Championship teams. Amar’s best collegiate season was in 2024, in which he rushed for 1,222 yards on 193 carries, with 14 touchdowns on the ground, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. Across his collegiate career, Amar rushed 3,196 yards on 537 carries, scoring 28 touchdowns on the ground. Through the air, Amar had 518 receiving yards on 57 receptions, with two receiving touchdowns. Amar scored 174 points across 56 games, meaning he averaged 3.1 points per game, or he had over a 50% chance of scoring every game he stepped on the field.
When asked about coaching Brady and Amar, Mr. Mouser, coach for the freshman football team, said, “They were both hard workers, determined to pave the way for themselves to reach a college and pro football career.”
Brady and Amar have certainly paved the way, completing their journey from Friday to Sunday.
