The 2025 Missouri football team has had a solid season. They are 6-2 and have looked impressive in most of their games. The Tigers' worst news this year was that their starting quarterback, Beau Pribula, got hurt in their last game against Vanderbilt. The Tigers are going with freshman Matthew Zollers at the starting quarterback position after Sam Horn was injured and out for the season.
Matthew Zollers is entering Missouri history by starting on Saturday against Texas A&M. According to On3's Pete Nakos, Zollers is the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Missouri Tigers since Drew Lock did in 2015. In 2015, Lock started in the final eight games for Missouri that season.
For Drinkwitz and his team, making Zollers as comfortable as possible in this offense is a top priority. That means focusing on his strengths and using them to Missouri's advantage as a play-caller.
“It's about playing to what his strengths are,” Drinkwitz said. “Are there things that we're going to add? Probably not, but are there things that he's more comfortable with than maybe Beau was, absolutely. So we can push those things in the playbook that maybe haven't been shown.”
Getting Zollers ready in practice has been Missouri's biggest goal over the last two weeks during their bye this week, leading up to Texas A&M. He has shown he can step into that role as a starter, despite all the pressure that comes with that.
“It's really about us focusing on helping Matt execute at the highest level possible,” Drinkwitz said. “We're excited about Matt's opportunity and what he's earned. He has done a really good job in practice of leadership, stepping up, embracing the moment, embracing the opportunity.”
During the spring and fall, Drinkwitz created plenty of buzz surrounding the freshman from Royersford, Pennsylvania, by saying he participated in the quarterback competition in Missouri with Beau Pribula and Sam Horn.
The four-star recruit has some potential to shock the world on Saturday against Texas A&M because the Aggies are the third-ranked team in the country and have looked dominant at times this season. He stepped up against Vanderbilt and can do it again in this game.
