Eli Drinkwitz praises Mizzou QBs in scrimmage, still looking for separation
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Eli Drinkwitz was satisfied with his quarterback play in Saturday’s 2nd scrimmage of fall camp, but the 2-man battle to be Mizzou’s starting QB will rage on into next week.
That’s because as happy as the Tigers head coach was with Sam Horn and Penn State transfer Beau Pribula, neither quarterback provided Eli Drinkwitz with the separation he was looking for and hoping for on Saturday. Horn is the only returning quarterback on Missouri’s roster, but neither he nor Pribula were good enough to tell Drinkwitz that his quarterback competition was coming to an end.
“Was really looking to see if we had some separation (Saturday), and I honestly just didn’t see it. They’re both playing really good football right now, so we’ll go in the next week and keep the battle going,” said Drinkwitz to reporters after Saturday’s scrimmage.
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While Horn and Pribula were good but not good enough to provide a winner in the quarterback battle, they both impressed Drinkwitz with their ability to take care of the football.
“I think the biggest takeaway for me offensively was zero turnovers. Quarterbacks didn’t turn the ball over (Saturday), which I thought was good,” said Drinkwitz.
Both quarterbacks showed Drinkwitz something near the end of the scrimmage, with the outcome on the line.
“Right there at the end of the game, Sam (Horn) gave his group a chance to tie it with a field goal, and (the) field goal didn’t convert. But then right there, Beau (Pribula) took (them) down and scored a touchdown. So, it was a good job by both quarterbacks,” said Drinkwitz.
Right now, with the season opener approaching, Drinkwitz is looking for everything possible to help him determine a winner in the QB battle.
“Yeah, I mean consistency in decision-making and consistency of scoring drives. You know, there was just too many lulls in the middle by both of them,” said Drinkwitz. “I felt like, you know, so, you know, we’ve got to clean that up on the execution end. Neither one of them were very effective in the backed-up situation, which could occur. So, we’ve got to clean that up.”
With that, the battle for Mizzou’s starting QB job continues on into next week, with all eyes on Horn and Pribula.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
