Mizzou football scrimmaged Saturday. Here’s how it went — and what we learned

On Saturday, fall camp looked a little different for Missouri as the Tigers traveled to St. Charles for an intrasquad scrimmage at Lindenwood University.

However, when asked about the ongoing quarterback competition between redshirt junior Sam Horn and graduate Beau Pribula, coach Eli Drinkwitz’s answer was about the same as it has been in recent weeks.

“I don’t have the timeline yet on the decision,” Drinkwitz said. “Everybody else is pressed about Week 1. I’m not really pressed about it. I’m pressed on who’s going to reveal themselves as the starting quarterback. I think they’re both playing really well from a statistical standpoint.

“If we feel like there’s no clear-cut decision, I’m not going to force a decision. That means that they’d both play in the first game, and we’ll evaluate those reps.”

The statement isn’t a guarantee that both quarterbacks would see a lot of playing time against Central Arkansas on Aug. 28 at Memorial Stadium. Rather, Drinkwitz has emphasized patience with the competition throughout fall camp, and he didn’t change his tune Saturday.

Each quarterback faced a new set of circumstances during the scrimmage.

Many key players were held out in favor of younger players, as Drinkwitz was “trying to create some diversity” in terms of the types of situations MU may encounter at some point in the season. Players initially thought that everyone would be available, but the decision to sit the veterans was made at Lindenwood.

As a result, both quarterbacks were suddenly faced with uncomfortable circumstances. Not only were personnel groupings mixed up, but Mizzou was practicing away from home in sweltering heat.

While the defense started the scrimmage fast, Drinkwitz said, the offense and special teams did not. The early part of the scrimmage featured a pair of three-and-outs and a shanked punt.

Those errors not only needed ironing out, but it’s likely part of why Drinkwitz wanted to hold a scrimmage away from Columbia. Each of MU’s three losses last season — Texas A&M, Alabama and South Carolina — happened away from Memorial Stadium. Since Drinkwitz’s first season at MU in 2020, the Tigers are 8-15 on the road.

“You look at our poor performances last year, three of them were on the road. We were really, really slow, and that can’t happen,” Drinkwitz said. “We have to start fast, and that’s something that you can learn now and apply it instead of having to learn after you go on the road. They knew I was disappointed with that slow start.”

Like several instances during fall camp, Horn and Pribula rebounded from a slow start, which is exactly what Drinkwitz wanted to see in an unfamiliar environment.

“It was a struggle for them, because they didn’t have necessarily the same group that they’ve been working with, so that was good,” Drinkwitz said. “(We) got to see them work through some difficulties, some slow starts and bounce back.”

As Week 1 inches closer, the idea Horn and Pribula will split reps against Central Arkansas will become more and more possible. Separation hasn’t seemed to exist yet, and Drinkwitz seems content with letting that question mark carry over into the season. Now, he appears to be looking for intangible qualities that don’t show up in the box score as a potential separator.

“It’s remarkable how close it is,” Drinkwitz said of the competition. “For me, it’s about being a transformational leader at this point and who’s going to lean into the team and really get the most out of those guys.”

Newer faces impress in Mizzou scrimmage

Under the blazing St. Charles sun, a handful of Tigers shined with key players on the sidelines.

“Jason Dowell had a sack. D-Hop (Daeden Hopkins) had a sack. Javion Hilson had a sack,” Drinkwitz said. “Shaun Terry had a big-time third-down catch. Donovan Olugbode always shows up. Marquise Davis and (Brendon) Haygood both had big-time runs.”

Senior safety Caleb Flagg has had an “outstanding” camp, per Drinkwitz, while redshirt-sophomore safety Santana Banner and junior safety Mose Phillips III received praise as well. Along the front seven, redshirt-freshman linebacker Brian Huff and sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Beasley were lauded for their prowess on special teams, while redshirt-junior defensive tackle Marquis Gracial has “grown up” on the interior.

Drinkwitz expressed optimism about the top three levels of the defensive depth chart.

“We know exactly where we’re at with the three corners,” he said. “We’ve got six defensive ends that continue to pop for us. … We’ve got four really good linebackers.”

Predicting depth charts can be perilous, but based on what’s been said throughout fall camp, this puzzle seems solvable with less than two weeks until the season opener.

At cornerback, Dreyden Norwood seems solidified as the top option, while there’s a real chance Toriano Pride Jr. and Stephen Hall rotate opposite of Norwood. At defensive end, Zion Young, Damon Wilson II, Darris Smith and Nate Johnson appear to be in line for major reps, but figuring out the rotation behind them is trickier.

Hopkins and Hilson have made immediate impacts, but junior Langden Kitchen is also in the room. At linebacker, graduate Triston Newson and redshirt sophomore Josiah Trotter project to be the starters, while senior Khalil Jacobs and sophomore Nicholas Rodriguez figure to see ample playing time, too.

Mizzou names team captains

Drinkwitz announced that the Tigers conducted their annual vote for team captains, and there was an uncharacteristically high number of selections.

On offense, both Pribula and Horn were voted captains alongside offensive lineman Cayden Green and center Connor Tollison. On defense, Young, Jacobs and graduate safeties Jalen Catalon and Daylan Carnell were tabbed captains. Graduate wide receiver Logan Muckey was voted special teams captain.

“I’ve never had that many,” Drinkwitz said. “But it’s one of those things where I knew this class had strong leadership, and guys believed in them.”

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