Evaluating Zollers with a microscope: Promise evident, struggles proving painful

Whether you looked at the box score, watched the game or did both, the takeaway was likely the same: Matt Zollers has seen much better days than the one he experienced this past Saturday.

Against Texas A&M, he completed just 7 of 22 passes for 77 yards. Two of those completions (both to Donovan Olugbode) went for 34 and 28 yards, respectively. That means that, on the other 20 passes, Zollers completed just five of them for 15 yards.

Yuck.

Zollers was also strip-sacked twice, with the second fumble setting up an Aggies touchdown that put the road team up 14-0 late in the first half.

Let's unpack how and why this series of events happened as well as what to expect in the future.

Nothing came easily

Zollers never found a rhythm as a passer.

Two of his first three dropbacks featured deep shots on third-and-6 or longer that fell incomplete. The first rainbow to Olugbode was pretty, but on the ensuing play, a quick screen to Josh Manning lost 4 yards. Zollers was then sacked by Cashius Howell, causing a fumble Mizzou recovered, and on third-and-forever, Zollers scrambled for a few yards.

"He got off to a really slow start," coach Eli Drinkwitz said after the game. "We didn't do a good enough job of getting him comfortable throwing the football."

In basketball, warmups often start with layups before the player begins moving toward the 3-point line. That way, by the time the player starts shooting from beyond the arc, they've primed their confidence.

Zollers started by shooting 3-pointers. Even the shorter passes were a struggle. On multiple occasions, Zollers threw an errant fastball to a receiver that was only a few yards away. Throughout the telecast, analyst Jesse Palmer lamented the excessive velocity on Zollers' short throws.

"We never really got him into a rhythm offensively," Drinkwitz said, "and so we've got to do a better job of creating some offensive rhythm and not putting him in situations where he feels the entire pressure to make the play."

Pressure on Zollers to save Mizzou with his arm was evident in the advanced stats, as his average depth of target was a sky-high 15.5 yards. On the other side, Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed's average depth of target was just 2.9 yards - he didn't throw a single pass that traveled more than 20 air yards, often releasing the ball within seconds after the snap.

It worked. Because Reed was throwing the ball so quickly, Mizzou's strong pass rush had scant impact on the game. Plus, Texas A&M has high-caliber playmakers at wideout who excel after the catch, as evidenced by KC Concepcion taking a tunnel screen 48 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter.

Zollers' powerful arm salvaged some production. Both of his long completions to Olugbode traveled at least 25 yards in the air, and the Aggies were called for two penalties in the secondary as it attempted to defend a deep pass.

But many of those deep shots were thrown out of necessity because of what Texas A&M was accomplishing defensively. Part of it was aided by the Aggies knowing what plays were coming at times, MU tackle Cayden Green said.

"They had some good schemes dialed up for what we were doing," center Connor Tollison added. "We tried our best to stay out of the third-and-longs."

They tried but often failed, as Mizzou's average distance to go on third down was 8.2 yards. Against the best third-down defense in the nation, that wasn't a recipe for success.

"Ultimately, we've got to do a better job with the freshman quarterback protecting him," Drinkwitz said. "There can't be free runners on him, and that happened too many times with third downs."

Texas A&M's blitzes were often too much for Mizzou's offensive line to handle on third down, even when they seemed to have the right protections in place.

On the fatal fumble late in the second quarter, the play call was max protect. Along with five offensive linemen, two tight ends - Jude James and Jordon Harris - stepped in to help block on the right side of the formation. With the Aggies showing a five-man front, it looked like the Tigers had a numbers advantage and would be able to give Zollers enough time to throw. Upon the snap, all five offensive linemen and Harris slid to the left and seemed to have their gaps covered well.

But A&M coach Mike Elko had a trick up his sleeve. Middle linebacker Daymion Sanford, who appeared to be the only Aggie patrolling the middle of the field presnap, blitzed to the strong side, where James and Harris were already occupied with one-on-one matchups.

Suddenly, the two tight ends were faced with three pass-rushers in hot pursuit. Harris, who was in the middle of blocking linebacker Taurean York to his left, whiffed when trying to stop Sanford, who flew through the open D gap on Harris' right.

Manning and Kevin Coleman Jr. were both open on outbreaking routes toward the left sideline beyond the line to gain. Zollers saw that and started his throwing motion, but Sanford crashed into him before he could get the throw off.

"I didn't think he made bad decisions in the pass game," Drinkwitz said. "It's not like he was throwing the ball up for jeopardy and putting us in terrible spots. We let him down as coaches tonight with the protection plan."

Zollers had another factor working against him, one that doesn't show up in the box score: experience. Or, rather, the lack of it.

With almost any true freshman starting quarterback, growing pains are inevitable. In fact, Zollers fits the profile of another highly touted true freshman with a big arm who had the starting job bestowed upon him unexpectedly.

Ten years ago, Drew Lock was in a very similar situation. After starting quarterback Maty Mauk was suspended in late September, Lock took over and had ups and downs. While he showed off his cannon arm on numerous occasions, he completed just 47.9% of his passes over Mizzou's final eight games.

In the regular-season finale against Arkansas, Lock was 9-of-27 for 83 yards, and his last pass of the game was an interception. Zollers' stat line from Saturday wasn't much different.

This isn't a prediction that Zollers will become one of the most productive quarterbacks in program history. Rather, it should serve as a reminder that performances like the one Zollers had Saturday are perfectly normal for a true freshman.

What to expect from Zollers going forward?

The only way seems to be up.

Texas A&M will likely be the best defense Mizzou faces all season, and, again, that was Zollers' first collegiate start. Growth mainly occurs through game reps, which Zollers hasn't had. The Aggies also had a bye week to prepare for the Tigers' freshman quarterback, while Vanderbilt had little clue what to expect when he entered the game after Pribula went out with an injury.

This weekend's test against Mississippi State will be an interesting one. The Bulldogs' defense isn't nearly as imposing as the Aggies', but they send extra pressure often, which Mizzou has had a difficult time handling at times. In three of its past four games, Mississippi State has blitzed the opposing quarterback on more than 58% of his dropbacks, a sky-high rate.

Another thing to look out for going forward is Zollers' passing diet. He attempted eight passes of at least 20 air yards, a stark change from Beau Pribula, who had 17 such attempts all season.

But Zollers also attempted just four passes beyond the line of scrimmage that were between the numbers, an area of the field that's historically better for sustained success. While Pribula didn't test the deep parts of the field much, he was elite at hitting the throws between 0-10 yards from the line of scrimmage, especially between the numbers.

But for as much as Zollers struggled Saturday, his past suggests there's light at the end of the tunnel. His high school coaches raved about his poise, and Olugbode noted that he plays "like he's done it before." It wasn't that long ago that Zollers kept Mizzou alive in Nashville, Tennessee, with big-time throws and scrambles.

A bounce-back opportunity awaits against Mississippi State this Saturday, when Zollers will likely experience more growing pains. That's supposed to happen - even for a quarterback who plays beyond his years.

"I think his confidence in yesterday's walk-through was better. I think his confidence in practice will be better," Drinkwitz said. "And now, we've got building blocks on what we can build upon. It's unfair to expect Matt to carry the load. I've got to do my job of carrying the load for Matt. Our staff's got to do their job, and then our whole team's got to continue to do their job."

Copyright 2025 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Evaluating Zollers with a microscope: Promise evident, struggles proving painful."