COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 It sure doesn鈥檛 seem like Matt Zollers is the third wheel of Missouri鈥檚 quarterback competition. Or he鈥檚 not just along for the ride, anyway.
The true freshman signal-caller is the third of three contenders to be the Tigers鈥 next starting QB, if you even consider there to be three. Usually, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz has described the battle as a two-man race between Sam Horn and Beau Pribula, though lately he鈥檚 injected some of his Zollers excitement into the fray.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 necessarily think Matt鈥檚 out of it just yet,鈥 Drinkwitz said Sunday. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to have to really come in and come on in fall camp, but that鈥檚 not been unheard of.鈥
Call it a 2 1/2-man race then, and it鈥檚 probably fair. If Zollers outplays the more experienced quarterbacks on the roster, MU would seriously consider starting him. It鈥檚 just that the odds of a true freshman doing that are quite long.
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No one will be surprised if Zollers winds up redshirting the 2025 season. Maybe he gets into a blowout game for a series or two just to get a taste. Whether that happens will be an interesting look at how Drinkwitz and offensive coordinator Kirby Moore want to develop the program鈥檚 highest-rated quarterback recruit since Drew Lock.
As is fairly common among modern college football players, Zollers enrolled early to participate in spring practices. He looked impressive, partly because his high school career had ended just a few months earlier with his foot pointing a different direction from the rest of his leg in a grotesque ankle injury.
Avoiding ligament damage helped him hit the ground running at Missouri, where it鈥檚 been his arm that鈥檚 most eye-catching.
鈥淢att鈥檚 got one of the liver arms within our room,鈥 Moore told the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淗e鈥檚 made throws that are very impressive.鈥
While reporters only see very limited parts of the Tigers鈥 fall camp practices and have not seen the quarterbacks throw against defenders or more than 20 yards downfield, Zollers鈥 arm looks on par with those of Horn and Pribula.
That shouldn鈥檛 be a surprise, given that Zollers threw multiple 60-yard passes 鈥 that鈥檚 60 yards through the air, not a catch-and-run situation 鈥 at the high school level.
Power is hardly a concern for the four-star prospect out of Royersford, Pennsylvania, and is part of why Drinkwitz hasn鈥檛 fully ruled Zollers out of the competition.
The reality of practices has shown the 2 1/2-contender nature of the QB battle. While Horn and Pribula have alternated days spent paired with starting center Connor Tollison, Zollers has consistently taken snaps from fellow frosh Henry Fenuku.
When Zollers is in with the offense, Moore is trying to keep things streamlined to help his adjustment to a collegiate playbook and a far more challenging defense lined up on the other side of the ball.
鈥淭he big thing with Matt is we鈥檝e got to make sure he鈥檚 playing fast and make sure we鈥檙e not slowing him down with too many schematics,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淢ake sure motions and we鈥檙e keeping those things nice and tight so he鈥檚 able to let his talent take over and make those throws that we鈥檝e seen him make throughout spring ball and within the June period.鈥
Maybe it鈥檚 shown behind closed doors, but there haven鈥檛 been obvious deer-in-headlights moments of confusion or flubs from Zollers. His form is smooth, his body language confident.
Drinkwitz attributes some of that to Zollers arriving on campus early to get spring ball under his belt. But there鈥檚 a real sense around the program that it鈥檚 Zollers鈥 talent that has him poised to be a key source of potential for the future of Mizzou.
鈥淚 ran into Matt and (freshman wide receiver) Donovan Olugbode at breakfast (Sunday) morning, and man, you could just tell there鈥檚 a different confidence in them, knowing what to expect in practice,鈥 Drinkwitz said. 鈥淎ny time those guys know what to expect, there鈥檚 not going to be a drill that they haven鈥檛 performed before. They know what they鈥檙e going against every day. The lights aren鈥檛 going to be too big. I think you鈥檙e going to see a big jump.鈥
