Garrett Riley Gives Insight to New Mizzou Quarterback Room

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri's quarterback room looks vastly different now than it did in 2025.

There are only two returning faces from last year's team, being sophomore Matt Zollers and Brett Brown. The other three players in the room are new to Columbia and head coach Eli Drinkwitz's offensive system.

Those new players bring a few key traits, including multiple years of experience, plenty of talent and knowledge. New quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley has been thrown into the fire to work with those five players and have them ready for the new season.

"Overall, there's some experience, there's some wisdom in the room," Riley told the media on Saturday. "Obviously, none of them have played a ton. And so that's just where we got to make up this ground, put ourselves in a great position as we head into the fall."

Riley, Drinkwitz and new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey are looking for a few things in order for someone to separate themselves in the quarterback room, starting with the ability to make good decisions. Putting the team in a position to put points on the scoreboard is also high up on that list.

"As you get into it, it's certainly who can lead us to score, who can take care of the football and be consistent in decision making," Riley said. "Then the execution part of it, right? You can be a great decision maker, but if you never make a play, that's not a great formula."

At what looks to be the helm of this quarterback room is Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons, who enters 2026 as a redshirt junior. He has some experience as a starter with the Rebels, while also serving as the backup to Trinidad Chambliss this past season.

So far, Simmons has caught the attention of his coaches by showing off his consistency, both on the field and emotionally. He's also adapting to Missouri's offensive system at a rate that's impressed the coaching staff.

"The thing I like about him is he's a poised guy," Riley said. "I don't think anything gets him too high or too low. There's not a lot of panic in him, learning a new system, learning his new teammates, just all those things combined, it's definitely been one of the highlights as we evaluate him."

Drinkwitz brought in a second transfer portal quarterback this offseason in former UConn Husky and college football journeyman Nick Evers. This will be the fourth school Evers has been at throughout his college career, including other stops at Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

Unsurprisingly, the experience and wisdom that Evers brings to the table is what's been the most eye-catching to Riley. Despite Riley and others on the offensive calling him the old man of the quarterback group, his experience at different schools and different systems should be a difference-maker for the Tigers.

Though it doesn't look like Evers will earn the starting role, he should be able to play a key role on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

"I love Nick's experience, and I think he's a really good teammate," Riley said. "I think he really understands how to be level-headed and stay even keel throughout things. And I think he just has that about him."

Zollers will be the most experienced player in the quarterback room, having started in three games in 2025. The likely outcome for Zollers in 2026 would be him burning the redshirt that he was intended to burn in 2025, having to slide in for an injured Beay Pribula.

The competitiveness and willingness to learn of Zollers have stuck out to Riley. Despite being the most experienced in Missouri's system, Riley is still getting his first impression of the sophomore.

"I think he's a guy that's eager," Riley said. "I really think he's a hungry quarterback, hungry football player to really get better, to learn the why of what we're doing. That's really stuck out to me."

Per Drinkwitz, the Tigers will undergo another quarterback competition this offseason between Simmons, Zollers, Evers and true freshman Gavin Sidwar. From the outside, it would appear that Simmons is in the driver's seat for this competition.

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