How does Sam Horn's injury affect Mizzou's QB competition?
Since Miami quarterback transfer Jake Garcia committed to Mizzou on Jan. 20, it's been speculated that there would be another full-blown quarterback competition in Columbia.
By then, it was already known that the team's starting quarterback from a season ago, Brady Cook, would miss spring football as he recovers from a torn labrum in his right throwing shoulder. Meaning Garcia would be splitting first-team reps with Sam Horn, the team's four-star prospect from the class of 2022.
At least that was the thought heading into last weekend.
On Saturday, Horn, who is also a pitcher for Mizozu's baseball team, was 25 pitches and 1 1/3 inning into an outing versus Florida International when he made a face toward Mizzou baseball coach Steve Beiser signaling something was wrong with Horn's right throwing arm. Horn was immediately removed from the game.
After social media got a hold of the news, speculation about Horn possibly suffering a serious injury--like a torn UCL--ran rampant with many wondering what this meant for the football team in the short and long term.
Luckily for Missouri fans everywhere, Missouri football head coach Eli Drinkwitz quelled those rumors in his first media day appearance ahead of spring ball.
"He suffered a sprain and a forearm strain from a pitch he threw Saturday night that has been MRI'd and has been examined by not only our orthopedist, but also a second opinion and believe we have that diagnosed well," Drinkwitz said. "There was no damage to any ligaments."
Drinkwitz later added that because It's a different throwing motion for football than it is for baseball, he expects Horn to "be limited" on the first day of spring practice on Tuesday, but be able to throw later in the week at practice on Thursday or Saturday.
The NCAA allows athletes only 20 hours per week to partake in sports no matter how many sports that athlete participates in. So, Horn gets 20 hours a week between baseball and football. It's not clear how this will affect Horn's baseball career outside of probably not being able to throw for the next couple of weeks, but his usage of his hours and his arm is something Drinkwitz and his coaching staff will have to monitor.
Since Horn didn't suffer a serious injury, the quarterback competition is still in full swing, there's just now an increased level of caution around it.
It's definitely a quarterback competition
A theme for Drinkwitz's first press conference of the spring seemed to be that everything is earned not given and what a player did last season was a thing of the past.
When Drinkwitz was asked about Cook retaining his starting role when he returns from injury, the was non-commital and essentially confirmed the widely speculated quarterback competition.
"I haven't really got to that point yet," Drinkwitz said. "I'm focused on this spring and the opportunities that both Jake and Sam are going to have this spring. Brady is going to be out there working and watching, he won't be able to throw and we will take it as it comes. Whether you're talking about Daylan Carnell or Tre'Vez (Johnson) or Joseph Charleston and Sidney (Williams) or Triston Newson, Chad Bailey and Ty'Ron Hopper and Marcellus (Johnson) and Armand (Membou) 一 everybody's got an opportunity to compete.
"That's the No. 1 core value of our team. What you did last year no one cares about this year. So, every year is an opportunity to go out there and earn it and earn it again."
The fact that a widely speculated quarterback competition coming to fruition isn't surprising, but the question of where Cook falls in the competition was unknown.
Was it Cook's job to lose or does he have to make up ground and win a quarterback competition for the second year in a row?
The answer seems clear now.
What Drinkwitz knows about Garcia
Due to NCAA rules, Drinkwitz said he has yet to see Garcia attempt a pass, but he was still high on the quarterback who Rivals.com listed as a four-star transfer and the No. 25 available overall transfer.
"Just watching the tape I know he's got some natural arm talent there with a quick release," Drinkwitz said. "He's got good feet and an understanding of what it takes to be an offensive player. I like just being around him. He's got the right kind of persona and I think he's done a really nice job of fitting in with his teammates and getting to know those guys. He's played in some big-time ball and I think he knows what it takes to play the position."
Garcia completed 68 of 115 (59%) passes for 803 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions across eight games and one start which was a win over Virginia.
Last season, it took eight days into fall camp for Drinkwitz to name Cook the starter.
This quarterback competition will likely go at least that long, if not longer, with plenty of time for Cook, Horn or Garcia to emerge as the best option even with the former two dealing with injuries. However, there seems to be a different sense of excitement for Garcia to duke it out with Horn and Cook than there was for the quarterback competition last season.
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