Missouri landed a late transfer in the form of ex-Arizona State and Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne on Sunday.

Pyne, who has been enrolled at Notre Dame as a regular student this spring, is expected to join Mizzou’s football program this summer. He told ESPN’s Pete Thamel he committed to Missouri while on a visit this weekend:

Pyne has some experience as a starter, but he is joining Mizzou to be a backup behind Brady Cook in 2024. Cook was one of the SEC’s best quarterbacks last season as he threw for 3,317 yards and 21 touchdowns while leading the Tigers to a 10-win season.

Pyne told ESPN that he has a relationship with Cook from then the quarterbacks met at the Manning Passing Academy years ago.

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This arrangement is a win-win for Pyne and Missouri, and accomplishes a couple of key goals for the Tigers.

For one, Missouri now has a very accomplished backup quarterback who can step in if Cook were to get injured. Missouri has a lot riding on next season as it hopes to contend for a College Football Playoff berth. An injury to Cook at any point during the season could have derailed those hopes. With Pyne biding his time on the bench in Columbia, there’s a much better chance that Mizzou could survive an injury to its starting QB and keep its season in-tact.

While speaking with ESPN, Pyne pointed toward Mizzou’s trajectory as a reason why he chose to commit without taking a visit to other programs.

“From the beginning, Missouri stood out,” Pyne told ESPN. “The program has great momentum as one of the best in the SEC and to be one of the best in the country. Being on campus and talking to the coaches, I understand why they had such a great season last year.

“I believe strongly that they are going to be a big-time player in college football. I’m hoping to contribute to that however I can.”

The second reason why this is a good fit for Missouri is it now already has a head-start on its quarterback room for 2025. Cook is entering his final year of collegiate eligibility, and there’s not necessarily an heir apparent at the QB position at Missouri.

Pyne is expected to have 3 seasons of eligibility remaining, per ESPN’s report. That means he would have 2 seasons to be the Tigers’ starting QB if he wins the job next offseason.

Of course, Missouri is under no obligation to hand over the reigns to Pyne — he’ll have to prove himself over the course of the next year. Pyne’s on-field results have been mixed to this point in his carer.

In 2022, Pyne lost the Notre Dame starting quarterback job to Tyler Buchner out of fall camp. However, Pyne stepped in as the team’s starter after Buchner suffered a serious shoulder injury. His numbers that season were good, but not great: 2,021 yards, 21 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while averaging 8 yards per attempt. Pyne ended up leading Notre Dame to an 8-2 record as the starter in 2022, but transferred after learning the Fighting Irish were planning to pursue a QB in the transfer portal.

He ended up at Arizona State in 2023, and was on track to win the starting job until suffering an injury in fall camp. Pyne ended up battling multiple injuries last season and spent most of the year on the bench. He departed Arizona State after completing 53% of his passes for 273 yards, 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

Missouri’s quarterback situation for 2025 and beyond is still to-be determined, but bringing Pyne in a year early gives the Tigers a chance to consider him as a high-floor (but maybe low-ceiling) option for the future. If Missouri ends up finding a better option in the transfer portal — or perhaps a young player like Aidan Glover takes a big step forward — then the Tigers will still have those options available as well.

In the meantime, Pyne said he’s excited to contribute to Missouri’s success in 2024 in any way he can.

“I’ve been able to find my real motivation, I have a real itch to play again,” Pyne said. “After going and seeing Missouri, I can’t wait to play again and throw on a helmet.”

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