In 49 days, there will be a definitive answer.
Either Beau Pribula or Sam Horn will lead the offense out onto Faurot Field in Missouri football’s season-opening game against Central Arkansas on Thursday, Aug. 28, and the Tigers officially will have their new starting quarterback.
But until the new season begins — now just seven weeks away as of Tuesday, July 8 — the biggest question on the Mizzou roster is still waiting for an answer.
The race to be Brady Cook’s successor is down to two players.
Here is what you need to know about Mizzou’s quarterback room for the 2025 season, including our depth projections, the upside and possible questions for the room and some snippets of what the coaches said during the spring:
Missouri football projected depth chart at quarterback
Starting contenders Beau Pribula, gr.; Sam Horn, r-jr.
Reserves: Matt Zollers, fr.; Tommy Lock, gr.; Kameron Eleby, fr.
Before getting to predictions, let’s add a disclaimer: Missouri has not named a starting quarterback. The race will run into fall camp.
But, our best guess is that Pribula fits the mold of what Mizzou is looking for the most.
The Penn State transfer’s upside is high. He’s clearly a well-above-average runner, which Mizzou has used effectively with Cook under offensive coordinator Kirby Moore. That gives the Tigers some versatility, especially in the red zone on designed runs, draws and scrambles. Coach Eli Drinkwitz seemed to be offering up more than coachspeak in the spring when he said Pribula was a “better passer than we had anticipated,” too.
Transfer portal quarterbacks don’t come cheap in this era of college football, and it’s unlikely the Tigers spent money on Pribula for him to ride the bench.
Horn very well may prove to be the better candidate. If that’s the case, he will start. But from our vantage point in mid-July, Pribula should be viewed as the frontrunner.
When will a decision be made?
Mizzou hasn’t had a consistent timeline in any of the QB races it has held under Drinkwitz.
When Cook was first named MU’s starting quarterback in 2022, the announcement arrived within two weeks of players reporting for fall camp. The year after that, the Tigers waited until after the first game of the season to officially name Cook as the starter again.
When should you expect an announcement this year?
“You know, there’s an old saying: ‘When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,’ right?” Drinkwitz said in March. “I think, the quarterback position — there is no timeline, no timetable. When the starting quarterback makes himself known to the rest of the team, we’ll announce the starter.”
Is that vague enough for you?
The Tigers do have some time constraints this year, unlike the season they let Cook and Horn split reps in the first game of 2023. There is a potentially season-defining Week 2 matchup against Kansas, after all. That game should, given its importance, be the second start of the new QB’s Mizzou career.
So, it would be a surprise if a starter was not named before the Central Arkansas matchup.
The upside
Both potential starters have qualities that can greatly aid a team with CFP ambitions.
Pribula, while a backup at Penn State, carved out a useful role as an oft-running wrinkle in the Nittany Lions’ offense. His average tuck-and-run has gone for more than six yards, and he’s found the end zone 10 times in his career via his legs. Pribula’s tape shows a tremendous first burst of acceleration, good long speed and an admirable willingness to absorb contact and keep pushing forward.
Horn’s primary upside is in his arm talent, but he would be more of a pocket passer as he doesn’t have the same mobility as Pribula or Cook.
And even though the Lawrenceville, Georgia, product hasn’t played much while backing up Cook, he has still spent three years in Columbia, including two seasons learning Moore’s playbook. That’s valuable time and reps with the Tigers.
Questions, concerns
Injuries happen. Missouri was proof-positive of that last season, when Cook (various) and Horn (Tommy John) were sidelined for parts or all of the 2024 season, leaving Drew Pyne to take the reins at quarterback.
Pyne has since transferred to Bowling Green, seemingly after it became apparent he would not win the starting job. Class of 2024 freshman Aidan Glover also left the program, but seemingly is yet to find a new school in the transfer portal.
So, what if similar injury troubles occur this year?
Pribula is a bullish runner, which automatically puts a player at odds with an injury report. Horn is coming off Tommy John surgery. Zollers is a promising prospect, but all indications suggest he’s more of a project with future upside than an SEC-ready rookie. If Mizzou ever were forced to QB3, the scope of the season vastly changes. Injuries hurt any team, but Mizzou seems particularly thin behind its top-two options.
There are also experience questions surrounding both of MU’s frontrunners for the job.
Pribula has played in college, but almost entirely in designed drives or plays. That’s not the same as running an offense.
Horn has only thrown eight passes (and three completions) in his college career, all as a reserve. That’s certainly not the same as trotting out as QB1.
The good news is that those are easily answerable questions. Win the job, prove you’re a starting-caliber SEC quarterback and all these preseason anxieties look silly in December.
What the coaches said in spring
Drinkwitz, April 8, on Pribula: “Beau was every bit what we expected. And, in fact, I think he was a better passer than we had anticipated. … I knew Beau would have a little bit of, you know, still learning the offense, but I was impressed with how much he’s already understanding it and knew it and grabbed a hold of it. Excellent leader, very dynamic with his feet. Sound, solid decision maker.”
Drinkwitz, April 8, on Horn: “We’re talking about a guy (Horn) who led his team to the state championship in the state of Georgia. … When I went and watched him play his high school game, he was the best player on the field, and (Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter) was on the field, too. But Sam Horn was the best player on the field, so he knows what it looks like and has that leadership and confidence, and I think he put that on display.”
