Missouri Tigers quarterback Connor Bazelak has to earn his stripes all over again
By all accounts, Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak made the most of the offseason. Expect to see more poise, better decision making and familiarity with the offense, all that comes with being a second-year starter.
Anticipation for an improved season is acknowledged in the places you’d expect to find it. Bazelak has popped up on the Davey O’Brien watch list for the nation’s top quarterback candidates and is a third-team preseason All-SEC choice.
But as the season opener against Central Michigan at Faurot Field approaches Saturday at 3 p.m, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz splashed some balance on the situation by not coach-speaking his way through a response about his confidence level in Bazelak.
“I’m confident he’ll catch a snap,” Drinkwitz said. “But we’ll soon find out. He didn’t have to play in front of a lot of fans last year. So he has a whole new set of issues.
“Last year, not a lot of pressure coming in and performing. Now he’s had an offseason of everybody telling him how good he is and patting him on the back. We’ll find out how much Kool-Aid he drank or how much focus he’s had.”
Don’t misread Drinkwitz. He’s not down on his quarterback. This was a purpose pitch, a message to stay on track with the progress Bazelak and the offense showed last season and into this year.
“I think he’s got the right stuff,” Drinkwitz said. “I believe we’ve prepared him the right way. But praise and blame are the same. You can’t get caught up in it either way.”
It’s true that the 2020 season was different for everyone. Stadiums were about at 20% capacity. There was little normal about a season played during the pre-vaccine COVID-19 period.
But it helped Bazelak become battle-tested. He didn’t start the first two games last season when TCU transfer Shawn Robinson won the quarterback competition. But Bazelak replaced Robinson in the second quarter of the second game, and led Mizzou to a stirring triumph over LSU in the next contest with four touchdowns and 406 passing yards. The position has been his ever since.
Missouri went 5-3 in games Bazelak started. He averaged 237 passing yards per game and finished with seven touchdown passes. The season earned him offensive co-freshman of the year honors in the SEC.
This after starting his freshman season down the Tigers depth chart. He appeared in three games and started the season finale at Arkansas, suffering a torn ACL in the second quarter.
There was no quarterback battle heading into this season. Brady Cook appeared in three games last season. Tyler Macon is a promising freshman rated among the nation’s top dual-threat prospects last season.
But the job belongs to Bazelak, with the full support of teammates.
“Just a guy who is in total control,” Missouri wide receiver Keke Chism said. “He’s already a great leader, being so young. Just for him, it was all about taking that next step, and I feel like he’s done that within this offense. He’s learned so much in so little time to where he has total control of this offense.
“And we’re 100% behind him.”