Mizzou Has Confidence in 2 True Freshmen to Step Up After Injuries

The Missouri Tigers aren't going to let injuries, nor the fear of more injuries, affect how they play moving forward.

Even though kicker Blake Craig will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, and quarterback Sam Horn an "extended period of time" with a lower-body injury, Missouri will carry on with business as usual at both positions.

"You can't control injuries," head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a press conference Tuesday. "You can't be afraid of them. You got to play your game."

At both positions, Missouri now will lean on two highly-rated true freshmen. At quarterback, four-star prospect Matt Zollers will fill in as Missouri's back up behind Beau Pribula. At kicker, Robert Meyer will handle field goals and extra points while JUCO transfer Oliver Robbins handles kick offs.

In reaction to both injuries, Missouri also added two new players to the roster, signing quarterback Brett Brown and kicker Ryder Goodwin. Brown was a former walk-on for Missouri, spending 2022-2024 with the Tigers. Goodwin transfers from the JUCO level after spending last season with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

Meyer stepping up at kicker will be the biggest question for Missouri. The reliability of a brand new kicker can be the difference maker in games. There'll undoubtedly be a learning curve for the California native, but Drinkwitz has confidence in Meyer's talent.

"He's got a great leg," Drinkwitz said of Meyer. "It's just confidence and understanding conditions. He's always been able to kick, so, you just gotta have confidence that he can do it in front of sold-out crowds which is always a nervous thing to do. And then, conditions change, so being able to adjust and adapt to wind, cold, humidity, dampness, all those things affect the kicker."

Though Missouri could just avoid putting the game in Meyer's hands by constantly attempting fourth-down conversions instead of field goals, or two-point conversions instead of extra points, Drinkwitz isn't planning on changing the offensive strategy. Until he gives them reason not to, Meyer has the trust of the coaching staff.

“We'll play the game," Drinkwitz said. "Robbie can kick. I'm not going into it thinking he's not going to be able to do something that I know he can do that he’s shown in practice. Now do we have to adjust after we see things? We'll figure that out."

At quarterback, though an injury to Pribula would be dramatically more costly than if Horn was still healthy, Drinkwitz doesn't want that to be on the mind of the Penn State transfer. Even with Pribula's physical running style, causing him to take multiple rough hits against Central Arkansas in Week 1.

“Beau’s going to be Beau," Drinkwitz said. "I don't need Beau to change anything. Whatever makes Beau the best quarterback he can be, is what Beau's gotta be, and that's what he's going to do. ... I don't want him thinking, I want him doing."

If Pribula does go down, Drinkwitz has faith in Zollers to step up. He subbed in for Pribula late in Thursday's game, completing all three of his pass attempts for 58 yards.

“I feel a lot of confidence in Matt, especially after him being able to go in and perform the way he did, I thought he handled it pretty well," Drinkwitz said. "I think our staff has done a really good job of growing Matt while also letting Beau (Pribula) and Sam compete for the job. And we really didn't hinder his reps for performance while we were doing that."

Though the coaching staff had to divert most of the attention in the quarterback room to the competition between Pribula and Horn this offseason, helping Zollers develop was also on the to-do list. The goal was for that to pay off the future, but it could prove to be vital as soon as this season.

"We were actually very cognizant in fall camp and summer walk throughs and during spring to make sure he was growing and developing the reps. Because make no mistake about it, Matt Zollers is the future for us at that quarterback position here."

Now though, the pressure is on for Zollers to grow up quickly. Past the talent he's shown all offseason, there's new expectations that come with being the primary back up. Drinkwitz met with Zollers ahead of the season, and in the past week, to discuss those maturity expectations.

"There’s just got to be a maturity and growth now," Drinkwitz said. "He's no longer a freshman, just having a good time ... Now he's focused on what he's got to do in order to be prepared. Because at any play he could be in the game."