Drinkwitz Gives Thoughts on QB Competition One Week into Fall Camp

Missouri's head coach gave an update on the battle after practice Saturday.

Aug 31, 2023; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Sam Horn (21) runs the ball against the South Dakota Coyotes during the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

COLUMBIA — Before Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz stepped up to the microphone Saturday after practice, he gave a preface: "We don't have a starting quarterback yet, so with that I'll take questions."

It's the question that has loomed large over all of fall camp for Missouri. Through the first week, the starting reps have continued to be split evenly between Sam Horn and Penn State transfer Beau Pribula. Each of them have had flashes, but also the same adjustment curve expected to begin fall camp.

"They've all done some really good things and some really dumb things," Drinkwitz said to the media after practice Saturday.

Throughout the entire offseason, Drinkwitz has made it clear that two traits will be more important than any other in the quarterback battle: consistency and learning from mistakes. It's two of the things he liked most from Missouri's last quarterback.

"My biggest thing with the quarterback is really about what's his growth and learning potential," Drinkwitz said in the spring. "The thing about Brady Cook is he didn't make the same mistake twice."

Now that Drinkwitz has seen both the highs and lows, the next step is seeing which quarterback shows they can learn from those errors.

"Now it's about seeing, do they continually make that same mistake, or can they self correct?"

Being able to learn from those mistakes might be even more important than any flashes. Even if Pribula and Horn have never started a game, Missouri is mostly aware of what each of them can do at their best. What they need to learn is how the quarterback responds and learn when needed.

"What we've gotta force these quarterbacks to go into is we gotta put you in the red-zone. You gotta make a mistake and then not make it again," Drinkwitz said in the spring. "We gotta put you in a two-minute drill when you make a mistake and not make it again. That'll be the growth that we're trying to see."

Both Horn and Pribula have already showed small signs of that, including in Saturday's practice. Missouri ran a blitz period, testing how each quarterback would react under pressure. Both threw interceptions early on. Then, both responded with touchdowns.

READ: Mizzou Fall Camp Practice Notebook: August 2

"I think that's that's exactly what you want to see," Drinkwitz said. "That's how you want this quarterback battle to go."

Drinkwitz says the coaching staff "won't know much" about the quarterback competition, or any position battle for that matter, until the Tigers hold their first scrimmage of fall camp on Monday.

"It's so hard to say, you got to actually see them play," Drinkwitz said Saturday. "That's why we've had more play periods this year. Put it down there, and let's see where we're at, and we'll see what we got to do.” 

Even after Monday's scrimmage though, Drinkwitz won't feel the pressure to declare a winner of front-runner.

"When the quarterback's ready, he’ll show himself to the team," Drinkwitz said in a press conference ahead of fall camp. "We’ll all know who that is and when it is, we’ll tell you. I don’t plan on having a wait to announce because of a perceived advantage."