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COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥� In Missouri鈥檚 third or so practice of spring ball, new quarterback Beau Pribula pulled ahead.

The Penn State transfer, still quite new to the Tigers鈥� setup, dominated a 鈥渟kelly鈥� drill 鈥� a practice exercise for receivers and defensive backs that tests passing concepts with no offensive or defensive linemen on the field. In a short practice period, Pribula threw four touchdowns. MU named him the offensive player of the day following that practice.

The next day, returnee Sam Horn made his rebuttal, posting three touchdowns. He earned offensive player of the day honors for his effort.

And so the Mizzou quarterback battle began.

It鈥檚 a two-man race to be the Tigers鈥� starter when the 2025 season kicks off, in part by default after Drew Pyne transferred out of the competition earlier this month and in part by decree, with coach Eli Drinkwitz spelling out where the battle stands post-spring practices:

鈥淚t was clear to us after probably the first week and a half of spring that the competition is between Beau and Sam,鈥� Drinkwitz said this week. 鈥淭hose two guys will be the primary two pushing to be the starting quarterback.鈥�

That鈥檚 hardly a groundbreaking development. Missouri opened spring practice with four quarterbacks in the mix: Pribula, Horn and Pyne seemed like the contenders. True freshman Matt Zollers enrolled early but was never a likely candidate. And after Pribula and Horn pulled away, Pyne entered the transfer portal, where he鈥檚 since joined Bowling Green.

That the battle is down to two is perhaps helpful clarity for the Tigers, but Drinkwitz never planned to have a starter picked out by this point in time anyway 鈥� as he said at the start of camp.

鈥淚 told every quarterback that we would not name a starting quarterback coming out of spring,鈥� he reiterated this week. 鈥淒idn鈥檛 feel like it was fair to those guys to put that pressure on them, especially with Matt and Beau being new. But I also knew that the spring would be important to tell us where the competition was 鈥� and who had kind of emerged as the leaders of that competition.鈥�

Horn is the quarterback who is more familiar with MU鈥檚 offense and coordinator Kirby Moore鈥檚 system, having been on the roster since 2022. Still, he鈥檚 thrown just eight career passes 鈥� and none since November 2023 after missing all of 2024 with Tommy John surgery.

鈥淚 thought he took advantage of his rehab reps in bowl practice and really continued that throughout spring,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淚 thought he managed the offense really well, led really well, made good decisions, solid decisions 鈥� bounced back when we would make a mistake, didn鈥檛 let it carry over. He took the competition with Beau really well.鈥�

Horn is also rehabbing his elbow for baseball purposes, where he has begun bullpen sessions in hopes of making it onto the mound for MU鈥檚 baseball program yet this season.

Pribula, while new to the Missouri system and younger, has more game experience. He鈥檚 appeared in 24 contests across two seasons, attempting 56 passes and running the ball 94 times.

While the question with Horn is where his game-feel and rehab stand, the question with Pribula is what he offers through the air after being used as a run-package QB with the Nittany Lions.

鈥淏eau was every bit what we expected,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淎nd in fact, I think he was a better passer than we had anticipated. ... I knew Beau would have a little bit of still learning the offense but was impressed with how much he鈥檚 already understanding it and knew it and grabbed a hold of it. Excellent leader, very dynamic with his feet, sound, solid decision maker.鈥�

While Pribula having a better-than-expected arm is good news for MU, it鈥檚 the decision-making that seems especially important to the coaching staff鈥檚 evaluation.

One of the aspects of former starter Brady Cook鈥檚 game that the coaches most enjoyed was how rarely he made critical mistakes, particularly in his final two seasons. Moving to a less experienced quarterback in 2025 will bring about more mistakes by default, but working through those errors now is key.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the challenge with these guys: We don鈥檛 know necessarily how they鈥檙e going to respond,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淔or all of them, what they have to do is embrace what they do know. Beau鈥檚 played in a lot of football games. It鈥檚 not going to be too big of a moment. Sam Horn is going to get up on a mound and pitch with every baseball scout from the major leagues out there watching, so the moment鈥檚 not gonna be too big for him. To me, it鈥檚 about 鈥楥an they learn from the mistakes they鈥檝e made so they don鈥檛 have to make it in a game?鈥� 鈥�

The newness of the quarterbacks did have one side effect during spring practice: Missouri鈥檚 defense looked electric as the offense adjusted to new personnel at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and a few offensive line spots.

鈥淚 anticipated that would be the case because of the quarterback battle and the lack of continuity with so many guys on the offense side of the ball getting reps, but man, that (defensive) side of the ball was really good for us this spring,鈥� Drinkwitz said.

Now, with spring wrapped up, the Tigers鈥� quarterback battle will take a step forward. With the job to be won in preseason camp, the springtime adjustment period is over.

鈥淔rom this point on, everything鈥檚 judged: how they approach walkthroughs, how they approach the team in the team meetings, how they handle themselves in workouts,鈥� Drinkwitz said. 鈥淎ll of it is going to help determine who becomes the next starting quarterback.鈥�