What Stood Out in Beau Pribula's Debut at Mizzou?: The Extra Point

Watch the video below as Missouri football reporter Joey Van Zummeren gives his thoughts on the most impressive parts of quarterback Beau Pribula's first start with the Tigers.

Welcome to Missouri Tigers On SI's "Extra Point," a video series featuring the site's Missouri beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers provide analysis on a topic concerning the Tigers or the landscape of college sports.

In Beau Pribula's first ever career start, the quarterback showed exactly why the Missouri Tigers recruited him through the transfer portal. The Penn State transfer showed off the same mobility he did as a situational runner with the Nittany Lions, but also had the first chance of his career to show off his arm strength.

Pribula completed 23 of his 28 pass attempts for 283 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding 65 yards and two more touchdowns on 10 carries.

He competed for the starting job all offseason with redshirt junior Sam Horn, but once Horn went down with injury in the first quarter, Pribula established himself as the leader for the Missouri offense.

"I was pleased," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said of Pribula's performance. " He threw the ball really well."

His debut performance also provided a promising glimpse into what the Missouri offense as a whole could look like with him at the helm. Here's three things that stood out about Pribula's performance.

Deep-passing game

The very first throw of Pribula's career with Missouri was a 49-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Marquis Johnson. His pass sailed through the air and hit Johnson right in stride.

Last year, the deep-passing game was a weak point for the Missouri offense, despite being a staple of offensive coordinator Kirby Moore's scheme.

BEAU PRIBULA'S FIRST PASS OF HIS @MizzouFootball CAREER IS A 51-YARD TD 🎯🔥 pic.twitter.com/i8yPqzM5mU
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) August 28, 2025

Due to his limited playing time, there were questions as to whether or not Pribula would have the arm strength in order to improve that. But that first touchdown pass, along with a few other moments in the game should quiet those concerns.

Pribula wasn't perfect in this area though. Later in the game, he overthrew Johnson on a deep route over the middle of the field. Then, he connected with Johnson on a 44-yard pass. But, Pribula's throw was slightly behind his target, leading to Johnson being tackled at the 1-yard line instead of scoring a second touchdown.

If anything, Pribula might need to work on his timing and judgement a bit more, but the arm strength doesn't seem to be an issue.

The role of his mobility

What Pribula could do with his legs was never in question. But Thursday was a look at just how significant of a role it will play in Missouri's offense. The Tigers used it to their advantage often on play action or designed runs. It's a threat an opposing defense will always have to be aware of.

Speed is the most important trait for Pribula on the ground, but he also showed off good vision on his carries.

Agile on the run, under pressure

What ties into Pribula's mobility is his ability to extend plays outside the pocket. Even when the Missouri offensive line struggled early on, Pribula's decision making wasn't thrown off by constant pressure.

On one play-action pass in the second quarter, right as Pribula turned around to read the field, a defender was in his face. Instead of making a rash decision, Pribula was able to stay calm, tossing the ball to tight end Brett Norfleet on a check down as he was being sacked.

In other moments with pressure in his face, Pribula did a sound job of knowing when to tuck the ball down and run or when to throw it out of bounds. The first sign of pressure didn't trigger a scramble out of panic.

What will be just as important of a test for Pribula will be the Week 2 matchup where the Tigers host Kansas, which will bring a much tougher defense.

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