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So… who’s playing QB next year?

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Mizzou Links for May 3, 2022.

Anyone else starting to get a bit nervous?

Ever since Connor Bazelak put his name in the transfer portal earlier this offseason, the $1 million question has been this: Who’s playing quarterback for Mizzou next season?

The Tigers already have some intriguing — if relatively unproven — options. Brady Cook looked good in the Armed Forces Bowl, though may not represent a much higher ceiling than CB. Tyler Macon was a highly touted prospect in Drinkwitz’s first class, but hasn’t had the chance to show off a polished game outside of exhibitions. Fans tend to fall in one camp or the other, but Eli Drinkwitz has seemed to suggest he’d like to have more options. Jayden Daniels was the first high-profile transfer QB to be offered, and JT Daniels took a highly publicized visit to campus. This weekend, Gerry Bohanon became the latest Power Five starter to enjoy the finer things CoMo has to offer. By hell or highwater, Eli Drinkwitz seems determined to add another QB.

Only here’s the issue… isn’t there already another QB coming? Sam Horn was one of the crown jewels of this last recruiting class, a consensus top 100 QB who represented the future behind center. So what’s the rush to get someone else in?

If you haven’t been paying attention, Horn is also a highly gifted baseball player. And while he’s always been Division I good, he’s now putting himself in a position to be professionally good as well. Dave Matter thoroughly reviewed the situation in yesterday’s article at the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

MLB.com ranks Horn as the No. 33 pitcher in this year’s draft pool, counting college and high school prospects, and compares his situation to 2021 draft prospect Bubba Chandler, who turned down a football scholarship at Clemson in favor of a $3 million signing bonus with the Pirates as the draft’s No. 72 selection.

Horn has always been seen as a football-first prospect, but the MLB draft is a wild card when it comes to football prospects. If Horn is drafted as high as MLB.com is reporting he could be, you’re basically facing a wild card situation. If the team who drafts him really wants him on board, they’ll have to go over slot (i.e. how much money they have budgeted vs. what that pick is presumed to be worth) to sign him. But if they end up throwing a bunch of money at him? It’ll be a mighty tempting thing for Horn to take the money and bet on himself. A good NIL deal could even the playing field if Horn really wants to stick with football, but anyone with an ear to the ground knows Mizzou’s NIL program is underdeveloped.

For his part, Eli Drinkwitz is saying all the right things. He’s complimentary of Horn and his talent while maintaining public-facing confidence that Horn will be a Tiger moving forward.

“He’ll get started in summer school and they’ll make a decision. We’ll wish him the absolute very best whatever they want to do. But I know he’s excited about his opportunity to play football and baseball at the University of Missouri. We’ll just have to see which one ultimately wins the day. I’m excited for him…”

Actions speak louder than words, though, and Drinkwitz’s actions suggest that he’s looking for a contingency plan. Bohanon wouldn’t be the long term answer that Horn would, but he’d at least give Mizzou a proven option that they don’t currently have.

So who’s playing QB next year? Anyone want to take bets?

Yesterday at Rock M

More Links:

  • The hoops transfer season is slowly coming to a close, even if Missouri still has two scholarships open.
  • On that note, if you were holding out any hope for Isiaih Mosley… maybe let it die.

According to Rivals recruiting analyst Travis Graf, these schools are involved early in Mosley’s recruitment:

Kansas, Duke, DePaul, Mississippi State, Texas, Louisville, Oklahoma, Texas Tech

Bold, Mississippi State. Bold.

  • We may have missed this in yesterday’s links: Kobie Whiteside will also be joining an NFL team as an UDFA.