Right now, the water in which Eli Drinkwitz has stepped his feet is lukewarm. But it won’t take long for it to get boiling hot. On the SEC Football podcast, Cousin Shane has already painted a real picture for Drinkwitz. He stated, “Drinkwitz is in no jeopardy of losing his job here. But if he loses a s– ton of momentum, if he comes out here and says ‘this is the most talented team’ and then drops two of the first four games.”

Some believe that it will be difficult for the Missouri head coach to spell yet another 10-win season magic. One of the many reasons is that Drinkwitz is yet to pass the QB1 baton to. The quarterback battle, mainly between the two, Beau Pribula and Sam Horn, is still looming in the Mizzou squad. Did the cloud of confusion get cleared after the fall camp?

Turns out that Missouri’s fall camp went well. The team started practice with the offense backed up against their end zone. This was topped up by red-zone situations that wrapped up with a game-ending drive. More than others, Drinkwitz paid most attention. After all, what better way to differentiate between Horn and Pribula? But looks like Drinkwitz is still in the same position. He faced the media after the camp and said, “Saw some really good things and saw some things that frustrate you. I think the biggest takeaway for me was zero turnovers. Quarterbacks didn’t turn the ball over today, which I thought was good.”

He continued, “Red-zone was pretty even. I thought the defense got the better part of them in the open field, for the most part. Right there at the end of the game, Sam (Horn) gave his group a chance with the field goal, and field goal didn’t convert. But then right there, Beau (Pribula) took them down and scored a touchdown. So it was a good job by both quarterbacks. So, it was good by both quarterbacks. Was really looking to see some separation today, and I honestly just didn’t see it. They’re both playing really good football right now.” Yes, that’s how Drinkwitz failed to come out of the labyrinth. But what are the fans saying?

They are saying that Drinkwitz did not pay a seven-figure check to put Pribula on the bench. On the other hand, Horn picked up the hype 3-4 years ago and came off battling an injury. After undergoing surgery, Horn “looks great.” But whoever it is, Drinkwitz’s starter got to fill a Brady Cook-sized spot. In the past three seasons, he came up with 8,304 yards and 44 touchdowns, along with 1,073 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns. Drinkwitz never had to worry when Cook was around, who pulled off big wins like the 2023 postseason victory (14-3) over the Ohio State Buckeyes. While Drinkwitz is spoiled with choices, he knows the quality run he will have to run to pick the one between Horn and Pribula. 

Eli Drinkwitz reveals his two non-negotiables for choosing QB1

On August 7, Drinkwitz appeared on KOMU 8 Sports, and that’s when he shared about two criteria to pick his starting quarterback. “I think it’s really important to see quarterbacks who can get us in the end zone. Individual stats don’t matter as much. It’s are they able to lead their offense whether they’re with one, two, or three? Are they able to lead their drives and get their team on their side of the ball into the end zone?” shared the head coach. 

Given the stats, Pribula is at an advantage. Back at Penn State, in two years, the quarterback racked up 571 yards and 10 touchdowns and held a completion rate of 66.1%. Coming back to Drinkwitz’s other option, Horn came up with 54 yards and 1 touchdown. Being bogged down by injury, he has not completed a pass since 2023. But turns out that Drinkwitz has got no business to do with the numbers.

He took the fans through his belief, “And the second thing is decision-making. Consistent decision making. Football is not free from error. They’re going to make mistakes. But how limited are those mistakes? Do they make mistakes more times than not? And like I told them and I’ve said to our staff, one bad day will not decide the competition, but to me, if you have two bad days, that might be enough for the other guy to be the starting quarterback.” Turns out, no matter who starts for the Tigers, Ei Drinkwitz’s squad is blessed with a crucial factor: their schedule. So, the sooner he reveals his QB1 name, the better.