“Drinkwitz unsure after 18 practices.” And that’s the one thing that’s haunting him when the lights go out. Missouri’s fall camp wrapped up with Eli Drinkwitz drawing up a timeline for the QB1 decision. The HC knew every position was locked in, every starter clean, except the one that mattered the most. At least now, he attached a ticking clock to the Beau Pribula vs Sam Horn competition. 

In an X post by Mizzou insider Eli Hoff on August 19, “A #Mizzou quarterback decision — maybe even the quarterback decision — is coming tomorrow, per HC Eli Drinkwitz.” “We’ll have a decision and talk to both these guys here in the next 24 hours about what we’re going to do,” said the coach. By the end of Wednesday, the Tigers’ offense could belong to Penn State transfer Beau Pribula or returner Sam Horn. Now, that’s enough to keep fans glued to the screen, but inside the walls of the Missouri football complex, it’s becoming an insomnia fuel. 

Pribula, the safer bet, brings legs that fit neatly into the Drinkwitz blueprint. He’d slide right into Mizzou’s tempo, giving them a mobile QB. Sam Horn, meanwhile, has the big arm and gunslinger appeal that whispers of upside but also screams volatility. The choice is a fork in the road for Mizzou. Mobility or arm talent? Stability or risk? Proven blueprint or a new identity? And whichever path he chooses, it’s not one he can afford to mess up. That’s why, when the HC finally dropped his guard, the weight of it all came spilling out.

Forget playbooks and game scripts, this QB battle has been living rent-free in the coach’s head for weeks. “This has been something that’s kept me up every night and wakes me up in the morning,” Coach Drinkwitz confessed. And while fans can dream of a two-QB system, he all but laughed that away. “Y’all are into hypotheticals now,” he told reporters. “We’ll know in 24 hours what we’re going to do.” That left one final proving ground before the curtain lifts on the 2025 season, a scrimmage designed not just to test schemes, but to reveal character. And he wanted one last real-world test before crowning his QB1, and he found it at Lindenwood. 

Eli Drinkwitz draws lessons from Lindenwood

Missouri traded the comfort of Columbia for the road-trip grind of St. Charles, staging a full dress rehearsal at Lindenwood. This wasn’t your routine scrimmage. The Tigers stayed overnight, woke up with that game-day edge in their stomachs, and rolled into a stadium knowing the HC had something up his sleeve.

Before kickoff, Eli Drinkwitz yanked helmets from several key veterans, essentially telling them, ‘You’ve done enough, watch the show.’ “I told them, ‘Hey, when you go on the road, you always face adversity. You never know when somebody’s got to step up,’” Drinkwitz explained. And with the helmets off the household names, the spotlight shifted onto the QB running the show without the safety net of the team’s most experienced playmakers. It was less about scoreboard results and more about watching who could operate when the deck was stacked, who could still lead when the cushion was gone. For Eli Drinkwitz, it was the final lesson before he chose the face of his program.

Now the final countdown ticks away. Missouri has its opener against Central Arkansas on August 28, but the real drama arrives long before kickoff. Eli Drinkwitz promised an answer in 24 hours. The QB decision that’s been stealing his sleep is about to be awakened.