Mizzou football: Giving thanks for Drew Lock as he finishes his best season yet

This holiday season, it’s important to give thanks for everything that is good in your life.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, Mizzou fans (and coaches, too) should be giving thanks that QB Drew Lock decided in 2015 to attend his home-state school. Though Lock struggled as a freshman and at times as a sophomore, he has developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the country the past two seasons.

Though his numbers aren’t what they were in 2017, Lock is having his best season as a member of the Tigers (especially when WR Emanuel Hall is healthy). The Tigers have already matched last season’s win total and still have a game against a struggling Arkansas team and a bowl game before all is said and done.

Lock’s 2018 campaign hasn’t been without its struggles, though. In Mizzou’s four losses (at South Carolina, vs. Georgia, at Alabama and vs. Kentucky), Lock threw 1 touchdown pass and 5 interceptions. Even in some of Mizzou’s victories, Lock will toss an inexplicable pick, but this one in a loss against South Carolina takes the cake:

Chalk that up, in part, to having three offensive coordinators in four years. Lock’s career has been tumultuous, to say the least.

As a freshman, then-starter Maty Mauk was kicked off the team, forcing Lock into the starting role. Then Gary Pinkel, the coach who recruited him to Mizzou, retired as he battled cancer. Next, he lost OC Josh Heupel before last year’s bowl game against Texas, as Heupel took the head coaching job at UCF and didn’t stick around to face the Longhorns. And, just this year, he had to face Georgia with a hobbled Hall and then was without his favorite target for losses to Alabama and Kentucky.

That’s a lot of adversity for one 4-year career, but Lock has gotten through it and will leave the Mizzou program in a much better place than where he found it. There’s a real chance at 9 wins this year (yes, it certainly should have been 10 or 11, but fans would have been ecstatic with 9 before the season) and you’d better believe Lock is going to play in the bowl game.

Through 11 games this year, Lock has 2,904 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and 8 interceptions (some of which weren’t his fault at all). Last season, he had 3,964 yards, 44 touchdowns and 13 picks, but you can argue that Lock’s 2018 numbers have been better.

New OC Derek Dooley has been using the running game more, and the Tigers have had balance while possessing the ball more than they did in 2017. Lock has been doing what he needs to do, especially when Hall is on the field, even if his numbers aren’t as eye-popping.

Lock still has one of the best arms in college football, and perhaps most impressively, he’s raised his completion percentage to 63.1 percent after connecting on only 57.8 percent of his throws last season.

In the NFL, you have to be able to fit the ball into tight windows when it doesn’t look like a receiver is open, and throws like this show Lock has the ability to do just that:

Drew Lock couldn't have placed this ball in a tighter window. pic.twitter.com/IMy72V0oNo

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 17, 2018

Then, you add in pure arm strength on an out route, and it’s clear Lock will be playing at the next level:

Drew Lock couldn't have placed this ball in a tighter window. pic.twitter.com/IMy72V0oNo

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 17, 2018

Even though he’s fallen out of the first round in many 2019 NFL Mock Drafts, Lock still has plenty of opportunities to impress teams and scouts. Regardless of when he’s drafted, he’ll be playing on Sundays soon enough, so Mizzou fans should appreciate these last two games from a True Son.

Lock has done a lot for the program, and before he moves on to the next level, be sure to appreciate one of the three best quarterbacks ever to put on the black and gold.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.