Eliah Drinkwitz’s QB Plans Confirmed as Mizzou Insider Drops 4-Word Verdict on Beau Pribula

Even in a conference packed with heavy hitters like Alabama, Texas, and Georgia, Eliah “Eli” Drinkwitz’s Missouri Tigers have been turning heads. They wrapped up the 2024 season with a strong 10-3 record, including a decent 5-3 mark in the SEC. Now, Drinkwitz is gearing up to map out another successful run for the Tigers, and that might involve some changes. Missouri just shook up their coaching staff, letting go of defensive line coach Al Davis and bumping up defensive tackles coach David Blackwell to take his place. While Drinkwitz is making coaching moves, one of the big question marks for Mizzou hasn’t gone away yet—their quarterback competition between Sam Horn and Beau Pribula. The head coach hasn’t made a final decision, but someone close to the Tigers has shared their take on Pribula’s future.

Even if some folks in the college football world are unsure about Drinkwitz as a head coach, he’s definitely earned some praise as a recruiter. His high school recruiting class was ranked 20th nationally, with an average recruit rating of 89.35. To put that in perspective, his predecessors, Barry Odom and Gary Pinkel, were ranked 38th and 26th, respectively. Now that their quarterback, Brady Cook, is off to the NFL, Eliah Drinkwitz has already been planning ahead. Even with Horn on the roster, he shelled out a significant $1.5 million NIL deal to bring Pribula in. That kind of money definitely puts Pribula in the spotlight. As analyst Nate Edwards once pointed out, “Did you ever think in our lifetime we’d be sitting here saying Missouri paid $1.5 million for a player…could you ever imagine that and more importantly, do you think he’s worth that?”

Now, what is Gabe DeArmond saying about the Pribula situation?  

On the May 16th episode of the Cover 3 Podcast, the Mizzou insider shared, “The interesting part, I think at quarterback is they bring in Beau, and I think he’s going to be the starting quarterback. All odds say that… You don’t pay a guy seven figures to come be a backup.” But here comes a catch. “But they do have Sam Horn, who came in with all this hype 3-4 years ago and has never seen the field. He’s battled injury all that stuff. He’s gotten really strong reviews out of spring football.”

Sam Horn has multiple years of experience in the Tigers’ offense, despite seeing the field scarcely. After undergoing Tommy John surgery last February, quarterback Horn “looks great,” Drinkwitz said. Well, the wait for the final answer is going to be long. “Eli isn’t going to name a starting quarterback at least until August.” But DeArmond has peered into his crystal ball, so to speak, and made his future prediction.  

“They are at least going to go with the presumption that Sam Horn has a chance to compete for this job. I think it’s Pribula’s to lose.” After patiently waiting his turn at Penn State, Beau Pribula seems all set to step in for Brady Cook at Missouri. His dual-threat skills are a great match for Missouri’s outside-run-focused offense, and his speed could bring back some of those designed QB runs they used with Cook. While clouds of uncertainty shroud the Tigers’ camp regarding their quarterback situation, Drinkwitz foresees an unexpected twist in their SEC future.

A schedule tailored for Eliah Drinkwitz’s triumph

According to Nate Edwards, Drinkwitz’s boys will be punching the playoff tickets. “Number one, I think he’s going to be given the time to do so. Number two, I believe the playoff is going to expand and force-feed four SEC teams into the thing. Which regardless of my politics on that, kind of feel like Missouri is going to be one of the top 4 teams in the SEC at some point.” If the Tigers fans think that’s the only serving of good news they are blessed with, here comes a complementary serving. 

Looks like Missouri’s schedule is going to help Drinkwitz give their best. “I hate even saying it, but the schedule really kind of lines up fairly well for them. There’s not a whole lot going on with that…If they can steal a couple of games in there, they might be flirting with a 10-win season.” Yes, they have a home matchup against powerhouse Alabama in mid-October.

But they will be wrapping up the season with face-offs against SEC newcomer Oklahoma and Arkansas. So, everything is falling into place. It’s just that Eliah Drinkwitz must wake up from his sweet dreams and buckle up. Do you know how Drinkwitz decided which player was going first to take the starting reps for March 1’s practice? “Old-fashioned paper, rock, scissors,” came the HC’s reply. After all that, it’s time for Drinkwitz to officially crown his starting QB with a bit more weight than a game of rock-paper-scissors.

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