Mizzou Spring Football Storylines: Quarterback

Early March will see the beginning of spring practices for the Missouri Tigers, marking the first look at how the roster may shape up for the 2025 season.

For the Tigers, the quarterback position will be one with the most eyes on it with a new leader in the group; Penn State transfer Beau Pribula. Past the highly-rated transfer, there's plenty of questions on how the rest of the depth chart will shake up.

The exact order of the group likely won't be known until the fall, but the spring should offer plenty of clues and new developments.

Here's the top storylines to follow during spring practices at quarterback.

How often is Sam Horn throwing?

Redshirt junior Sam Horn missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in February of last year due to an elbow injury. The former four-star recruit was set to be Missouri's backup, had he been healthy. He competed with Brady Cook for the starting job ahead of the 2023 season.

Missouri acquired Drew Pyne from Notre Dame through the spring window of the transfer portal following the surgery for Horn. Pyne saw action in six games in 2024, taking 82 pass attempts. He and Horn will likely compete for the backup job this year.

The spring will provide the first clue on where this potential backup battle is at, getting a glimpse of where Horn is at in his recovery. In December, Horn had progressed to the rehab phase, allowing him to "throw a little bit," as head coach Eli Drinkwitz described.

"He has been able to go and ramp up his throwing and we've liked everything we've seen so far," Drinkwitz said of Horn in a press conference on Dec. 18.

Drinkwitz added that Horn would participate in both baseball, where he's a pitcher, and spring football practices. Through the first seven games of Missouri's baseball season, Horn has yet to be available for play.

"{Baseball] coach [Kerrick] Jackson and I have a great relationship and we've worked out a plan in place that will allow him to be fully involved in baseball, when it's time for baseball, but also in spring [foot]ball, to be fully involved in spring football," Drinkwitz said. "So, feel confident in our plan."

With it being just over a year removed from the Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, it would be surprising to see Horn be fully recovered. He was able to throw a few passes during Missouri's practices for the Music Bowl though.