On Tuesday afternoon, following the last fall camp practice, Drinkwitz would speak to the media. After Drink’s opening statement, the first question was asked and unsurprisingly, it was about the quarterback situation. 

Drinkwitz responded, saying things like: “this has been something keeping me up every night.”, as well as: “We’ll have a decision, and talk to both those guys here in the next 24 hours about what we’re going to do, and make sure the team’s comfortable with the plan moving forward.”

After a long and grueling fall camp, headlined by a quarterback battle in which all quarterbacks were playing great football, Eli and his staff came to a decision.

Chris Low of ESPN has reported that Missouri will use both quarterbacks in week one, not a surprise given how close the battle has been throughout fall camp. Here is Drink’s official statement:

“I informed the team this afternoon that both quarterbacks will play in the first game,” Drinkwitz said in a statement. “I want to see them in a game-day situation to make a final determination.”

Both Beau Pribula and Sam Horn come into this season as veterans who have been in the college football landscape for a while, but have taken little meaningful snaps in games. Both quarterbacks bring something different to the table. 

So, what does Pribula bring to the offense? The first thing that comes to mind is the ability to run. Some quarterbacks are great scramblers, but not true runners. Pribula however, is a true runner. Oftentimes, Pribula would be brought in for run packages in his time as a Nittany Lion, showing the staff’s trust in him as a runner. In the past two seasons, Pribula has combined for 571 yards on 91 carries, adding on 10 touchdowns. Pribula averaged 6.1 yards per carry. While that may be slightly inflated due to specific garbage-time conditions, still solid numbers nonetheless.

Pribula has shown efficiency as a passer, but given the fact a small sample size. Pribula saw game time in a road affair against Wisconsin last season, where he would lead Penn State to a 28-13 victory, with 11-13 through the air, 98 yards, 1 touchdown, and 28 yards on 6 carries. 

 In the ‘22 and ‘23v seasons, Sam Horn would lose both QB competitions and last season, Horn missed the entire year due to an elbow injury suffered through baseball. Speaking of baseball, Sam is rolling in the positive news , after he also just inked a 795,000 dollar deal with the Dodgers. How’s that for a solid two week stretch?

The first thing he brings is knowledge of the playbook, as this is his third season under Kirby Moore as offensive coordinator. Another underrated part of Horn’s game is his touch on the football. Horn, in contrast to Pribula, is more of a pocket passer, as he has terrific arm strength, mixed with solid accuracy. It wou;ldn’t surprise me if the playbook looks quite different for both quarterbacks.

Pribula will likely see plenty of designed runs, RPO action, and play action, while Sam Horn will get his mix of play action, but also a more traditional three to five step drop pass plays. Pribula and Horn will be evaluated on accuracy and consistency and will have to be on their A game, doing their best to take care of the football.

Both quarterbacks will feature in next Thursday’s game against Central Arkansas and only time will tell who wins the job.