Mizzou dwindles its quarterback competition down to two, following spring camp
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
And then there were two.
On Tuesday, Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz kept a promise that he made at the start of spring camp: he did not name a starting quarterback. However, he did give the media a glimpse of where the competition stands.
"It was clear to us after probably the first week of spring that the competition is between Beau [Pribula] and Sam [Horn]," Drinkwitz said during Tuesday's press conference.
You can watch the full press conference with Drinkwitz, as well as running back Ahmad Hardy, in the video players below.
Despite dwindling the competition down to two, Drinkwitz added that he has been very impressed with true freshman quarterback Matt Zollers, as well. He said that the Pennsylvania-native brings all the arm talent and natural ability they expected him to, as the staff is excited to see his growth.
However, Pribula and Horn, clearly, impressed Coach Drink and the team during spring ball.
"Sam, obviously, is back from his Tommy John surgery and, you know, I thought he took advantage of his rehab reps in the bowl practice and really continued that throughout spring. I thought he managed the offense well, led really well, made good decisions, solid decisions...I thought he took the competition with Beau really well," Drinkwitz said. "Beau was every bit what we expected. In fact, I think he was a better passer than we anticipated. I remember practice No. 3, he went out there and lit the defense up in a team period and I think he had four touchdowns on that day, was named offensive player of the day. The very next practice Sam came back and battled back and was named offensive player of the day...It was awesome to watch the back-and-forth."
The team is intent on not letting the quarterback competition become a distraction, either. Coach Drinkwitz said he told his quarterbacks that this battle can either divide the team or cause the team to thrive, depending on how they handle it. Thus far, he's been impressed with how Horn and Pribula have gone about it, both challenging and cheering for each other.
With some questions still lingering on the offensive side of things, the defense already feels like a well-oiled machine. Players that spoke to the media, on Tuesday, came in with confidence in what this unit can accomplish in the 20025 campaign.
"We have the talent to be as good as we want to be," safety Jalen Catalon said. "That's the question. How good do we want to be? You know, do we want to be average? Do we want to be good or do we want to be great? It's all about the message and the attitude that we bring in every single day, whether we're on a field or we're in the meeting rooms...it's all about our attitude and how we come in every single day and just laying that foundation down that we could be a good defense, but it's all about the details."
You can watch the full press conference with Catalon, as well as linebacker Josiah Trotter, in the video players below.
Mizzou will look to build on the chemistry and brotherhood they've built during spring ball through the rest of the offseason and into spring camp, as the group prepares for a 2025 season where the goals and expectations for themselves are as high as ever.
"The challenge for us is, we want to do something that's never been done before at the University of Missouri. That's win an SEC Championship, participate in a playoff and/or be the first time in school history to have three 10-win seasons in a row," Drinkwitz said.
