Mizzou quarterback competition continues into regular season
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Mizzou football season will kickoff at 7 p.m. on Thursday night and it'll do so with no clear starting quarterback for the Tigers. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz will split snaps between returning starter Brady Cook and redshirt freshman Sam Horn to start the 2023 season.
"The reality is that no quarterback took himself out of the race," Drinkwitz said in his game week press conference.
MU will take its time with selecting a starting quarterback. At SEC Media Days, Coach Eli said that in 2022 he jumped to picking one before the season started, however, he hinted that he would not be opposed to rolling with two guys until one becomes a clear front runner. That is exactly what he will do to start the 2023 football season.
Cook and Horn will go head-to-head for the starting job. Drinkwitz said each guy comes with their own set of advantages. One advantage Cook will bring in is expereince.
Cook is a team captain for a second-straight year, after leading the Tigers in 2022. He started in all 13 games, throwing for 2,724 yards and seven interceptions, rushing for 585 yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. He played most of the season with a torn labrum, which he had surgery to fix in the offseason.
The leadership piece is what has really set the St. Louis-native apart from the rest during fall camp. His team said he is a born leader.
"I think a part of the competition is being the best leader," Cook said. "Obviously, leadership comes with the position, but it also has to be deeper than that. You have to be a true leader of the whole team. The offense is going to look up to you, the defense is going to look up to you and it's just something that has to be there."
On the other hand, Horn is still growing his leadership skills. Drinkwitz said he's been working on being a good teammate and getting to know all the guys on the team better.
The Georgia-native only played for one series in 2022. He threw one pass for 10 yards with no touchdowns. But, at the start of fall camp, he is keeping his eyes on the prize for his redshirt freshman year.
"The biggest thing is win the starting job and keep the team connected, create that brotherhood and just keep building off of it," he said.
Mizzou and South Dakota will kick off at 7 p.m. at Faurot Field and Drinkwitz has not said which quarterback will come out to take the first snaps, hinting he isn't going to give away all of their competitive advantage.
