Ten wins is great, but there’s still a little something missing with Eli Drinkwitz and his squad. Fans are definitely on him about not having enough highlight-reel plays. However, they can never cut points in his report card when it comes to recruiting. After all, no Mizzou coach has found a way to consistently pull in high-end talent not just from Missouri but from across the country. But it turns out a problem has been plaguing the Missouri Tigers. A $1.5 million recruiting move is likely to misfire. However, an analyst still could find a silver lining in Drinkwitz’s chances of landing big in the Natty.

Now, let’s travel back in time a little. Drinkwitz’s high school recruiting ranked 20th nationally with an average recruit composite rating of 89.35. When Barry Odom was the HC, the Tigers ranked 38th nationally, while under Gary Pinkel in 2015, they were 26th nationally. Drinkwitz is regularly surpassing that level of recruiting even when his team finishes .500 in the regular season. However, here comes some hoopla.

Now that their QB Brady Cook is off to the NFL, there is some QB debate. Drinkwitz might be left confused with whom to choose—Sam Horn or Beau Pribula. Now that Horn has been declared healthy, Pribula will have to sit on the bench. But as easy as it might sound, that’s not the case. On That SEC Football podcast, analyst Nate Edwards gave a rundown.

Now Drinkwitz had dished out a hefty NIL offer of $1.5 million to land Pribula. So the podcast host, SEC Mike asked, “Did you ever think in our lifetime we’d be sitting here saying Missouri paid $1.5 million for a player…could you ever imagine that and more importantly, do you think he’s worth that?” To which Edwards replied, “No to your first question and I have no idea to your second.” He brings in a comp between two QBs. In his perception, Pribula has got that edge but did not get much time to start back at Penn State. All thanks to Drew Allar. However, he helped Penn State win Wisconsin 28-13. When it comes to his build, he did mirror Brady Cook. Still, the dilemma remains. 

As Edwards stated, “Is he worth 1.5 million like if he wins games? Yes…if he doesn’t? Then no.” Now is it going to block Drinkwitz’s road to playoffs? Absolutely not. The analyst sounded all confident, “100%.” The reasons? “Number one, I think he’s going to be given the time to do so. Number two, I believe the playoff is going to expand and force-feed four SEC teams into the thing. Which regardless of my politics on that, kind of feel like Missouri is going to be one of the top 4 teams in the SEC at some point.” However, Drinkwitz needs to have a clear stance on the QB scene first.  

Eli Drinkwitz is enjoying his own sweet time

So who is stirring the pot? It’s none other than Drinkwitz’s QB Horn. Well, the QB has not completed a pass since 2023. While Pribula had picked up 571 yards and 10 touchdowns. Coming with a completion rate of 66.1%. However, we can’t ignore how Drinkwitz’s QB Horn had the Tennessee Volunteers’ eyes on him. As SEC Mike shared the possibility about who will take the reins as Missouri’s QB 1. “Sam Horn who again he was a touted prospect, he had a lot of offers. Tennessee really wanted him; I know that could it be Sam Horn.” 

After all, it looks like Horn’s dark times are over. Last year in February, he fell prey to a torn UCL and had to undergo surgery. The injury did expose him to some real hardships, as he had to miss the last baseball season as a pitcher and all of this football season. Surprisingly, the HC is in no hurry to make the call. 

Eli Drinkwitz is basically living by the Chinese philosopher Tao Tzu’s teachings these days. As the HC confessed in the press meet, “You know, there’s an old saying: ‘When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,’ right?” Now if this left you surprised, hold on tight!

Do you know how Drinkwitz decided the player who was going first to take the starting reps for March 1’s practice? “Old-fashioned paper, rock, scissors,” came the HC’s reply. Natty hope is in the air; now will it light the fire in Drinkwitz?