Missouri will be without backup quarterback Sam Horn for “an extended period of time” because of an injury, Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said Tuesday, and kicker Blake Craig will miss the rest of the season after tearing an ACL.
Horn had been in a competition with Penn State transfer Beau Pribula to be the starting quarterback, and both were expected to play in last week's opener against Central Arkansas. But Horn injured his right leg in the first quarter on a designed run, and that left Pribula to play most
of the way in a 61-6 rout of the Bears.
Pribula was 23 of 28 for 283 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 65 yards and two more scores.
“Beau’s going to be Beau. You can’t control injuries,” Drinkwitz said. "You can’t be afraid of them.”
Horn missed all of last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. An accomplished pitcher, he was selected in the 17th round of the first-year player draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Horn signed a contract with them in July.
Freshman quarterback Matt Zollers is expected to back up Pribula beginning Saturday, when the Tigers renew the Border War against old Big 12 rival Kansas. Former walk-on Brett Brown also was added back to the roster to provide some QB depth.
“I feel a lot of confidence in Matt,” Drinkwitz said of the former four-star recruit from Royersford, Pennsylvania. "Make no mistake about it, Matt Zollers is the future for us at the quarterback position.”
Craig was hurt while trying to make a tackle on a second-half kickoff against Central Arkansas, leaving freshman Robert Meyer to handle extra points and Oliver Robbins to handle kickoffs. Craig had surgery on his knee Tuesday, Drinkwitz said.
Missouri and Kansas have not played since 2011, when the Tigers left the Big 12 for the SEC. At the time, it was the second-most played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 120 matchups dating to the first on Oct. 31, 1891.
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