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COLUMBIA, Mo. — In Missouri’s third or so practice of spring ball, new quarterback Beau Pribula pulled ahead.

The Penn State transfer, still quite new to the Tigers’ setup, dominated a “skelly� drill — a practice exercise for receivers and defensive backs that tests passing concepts with no offensive or defensive linemen on the field. In a short practice period, Pribula threw four touchdowns. MU named him the offensive player of the day following that practice.

The next day, returnee Sam Horn made his rebuttal, posting three touchdowns. He earned offensive player of the day honors for his effort.

And so the Mizzou quarterback battle began.

It’s a two-man race to be the Tigers’ starter when the 2025 season kicks off, in part by default after Drew Pyne transferred out of the competition earlier this month and in part by decree, with coach Eli Drinkwitz spelling out where the battle stands post-spring practices:

“It was clear to us after probably the first week and a half of spring that the competition is between Beau and Sam,� Drinkwitz said this week. “Those two guys will be the primary two pushing to be the starting quarterback.�

That’s hardly a groundbreaking development. Missouri opened spring practice with four quarterbacks in the mix: Pribula, Horn and Pyne seemed like the contenders. True freshman Matt Zollers enrolled early but was never a likely candidate. And after Pribula and Horn pulled away, Pyne entered the transfer portal, where he’s since joined Bowling Green.

That the battle is down to two is perhaps helpful clarity for the Tigers, but Drinkwitz never planned to have a starter picked out by this point in time anyway — as he said at the start of camp.

“I told every quarterback that we would not name a starting quarterback coming out of spring,� he reiterated this week. “Didn’t feel like it was fair to those guys to put that pressure on them, especially with Matt and Beau being new. But I also knew that the spring would be important to tell us where the competition was … and who had kind of emerged as the leaders of that competition.�

Horn is the quarterback who is more familiar with MU’s offense and coordinator Kirby Moore’s system, having been on the roster since 2022. Still, he’s thrown just eight career passes — and none since November 2023 after missing all of 2024 with Tommy John surgery.

“I thought he took advantage of his rehab reps in bowl practice and really continued that throughout spring,� Drinkwitz said. “I thought he managed the offense really well, led really well, made good decisions, solid decisions — bounced back when we would make a mistake, didn’t let it carry over. He took the competition with Beau really well.�

Horn is also rehabbing his elbow for baseball purposes, where he has begun bullpen sessions in hopes of making it onto the mound for MU’s baseball program yet this season.

Pribula, while new to the Missouri system and younger, has more game experience. He’s appeared in 24 contests across two seasons, attempting 56 passes and running the ball 94 times.

While the question with Horn is where his game-feel and rehab stand, the question with Pribula is what he offers through the air after being used as a run-package QB with the Nittany Lions.

“Beau was every bit what we expected,� Drinkwitz said. “And in fact, I think he was a better passer than we had anticipated. ... I knew Beau would have a little bit of still learning the offense but was impressed with how much he’s already understanding it and knew it and grabbed a hold of it. Excellent leader, very dynamic with his feet, sound, solid decision maker.�

While Pribula having a better-than-expected arm is good news for MU, it’s the decision-making that seems especially important to the coaching staff’s evaluation.

One of the aspects of former starter Brady Cook’s game that the coaches most enjoyed was how rarely he made critical mistakes, particularly in his final two seasons. Moving to a less experienced quarterback in 2025 will bring about more mistakes by default, but working through those errors now is key.

“That’s the challenge with these guys: We don’t know necessarily how they’re going to respond,� Drinkwitz said. “For all of them, what they have to do is embrace what they do know. Beau’s played in a lot of football games. It’s not going to be too big of a moment. Sam Horn is going to get up on a mound and pitch with every baseball scout from the major leagues out there watching, so the moment’s not gonna be too big for him. To me, it’s about ‘Can they learn from the mistakes they’ve made so they don’t have to make it in a game?’ �

The newness of the quarterbacks did have one side effect during spring practice: Missouri’s defense looked electric as the offense adjusted to new personnel at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and a few offensive line spots.

“I anticipated that would be the case because of the quarterback battle and the lack of continuity with so many guys on the offense side of the ball getting reps, but man, that (defensive) side of the ball was really good for us this spring,� Drinkwitz said.

Now, with spring wrapped up, the Tigers’ quarterback battle will take a step forward. With the job to be won in preseason camp, the springtime adjustment period is over.

“From this point on, everything’s judged: how they approach walkthroughs, how they approach the team in the team meetings, how they handle themselves in workouts,� Drinkwitz said. “All of it is going to help determine who becomes the next starting quarterback.�