HOUSTON, TX--No position in sports may be more important than the quarterback in college football. If you're looking for a difference in the matchup for Wednesday night's Texas Bowl, the signal callers are a good place to start.
Missouri will have third-year starter Drew Lock under center. Lock threw for 3,695 yards, an SEC record 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season. What does Texas coach Tom Herman see in Missouri's star QB?
"Touchdowns," the Longhorn coach said. "I see a guy that is comfortable in the offense. He's playing with a lot of confidence. He's getting the ball out of his hands quickly and accurately. I also see guys, a supporting cast that are making plays for him too."
"They really try and get the ball out quick. The quarterback doesn't keep the ball in his hands long," defensive tackle Poona Ford said. "It can get kind of frustrating, especially because you're just like beating them, you might be moving them, but you know you just can't get a chance to tackle him."
There were plenty of reasons the Tigers rebounded from a 1-and-5 start to win six straight games at the end of the regular season. But the most obvious is Lock's play. The Tigers averaged 337 passing yards per game over those six and Lock threw 26 of his 43 touchdowns during the streak. He tossed at least three touchdown passes in each of the season's final eight games.
"He's got a tremendous football IQ. He understands what we're trying to do offensively," Mizzou head coach Barry Odom said. "He's a tremendous competitor. He wants to be great and there's not anybody in our building that has outworked him."
"I think his confidence as well as him speaking up," offensive tackle Paul Adams said. "Last year, he really wouldn't talk much. Whether it was a team breakdown or kind of talking to the team. This year, you see him, he's one of the first ones to speak."
On the other side, Texas wasn't even sure who it would start at quarterback until earlier this week. Sophomore Shane Buechele will get the nod over freshman Sam Ehlinger in this one. But both will play.
"Neither of these quarterbacks have done anything so egregious that you could say one guy is behind the other one. But neither of them have anything really to take the bull by the horns," Herman said. "I think the decision to start Shane is just, we didn't play well at that position in the last game."
Both quarterbacks played in eight games this season. Buechele had a higher completion percentage (65.8% to 56.5) and fewer interceptions (4 to 7). But Ehlinger threw for more yards (1803 to 1350) and touchdowns (10 to 6). Ehlinger led the Longhorns with 364 rushing yards while Buechele ran for 87.
"There are similarities," Odom said. "You've got to prepare to see both of them and I think we will.
"Your calls don't vary too much. You just have to be aware of how you call it with both quarterbacks in. They're both great competitors and as I watched from start to finish on their season, they've improved throughout the course of the year and they're both really good players."
"They play similar," Marcell Frazier said. "Mobile quarterbacks. Decent-sized guys, they can move a little bit in the pocket. They like to run, quarterback run game a little bit."
LOCK KNOWS WHERE HE STANDS
Lock's junior season was good enough that there has been talk he could leave early and enter the NFL Draft. The junior from Lee's Summit has been noncommittal on that front, but did tell reporters on Tuesday what feedback he got from the league's draft advisory council.
“They ended up telling me to come back to school," he said. "I’m actually still considering it, due to things I have heard otherwise.”
Lock said the advice he got was largely based on "things that necessarily I couldn't show on film" due to limitations in Josh Heupel's offensive system. And he admitted the Tigers' choice for Heupel's successor will be a major factor in his decision.
"I would like to see who we possibly bring in," he said. "What could I necessarily squeeze out of him? What could I learn from him, rather than jumping ahead, possibly missing the opportunity to learn from a great mind that may have been in the NFL, may have coached really good NFL quarterbacks?”
UCLA offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch is the hot name for the Tigers' job. He was on campus a couple of weeks ago observing Missouri's practice and even talked to Lock afterward. Fisch has coached with five NFL teams in addition to being an offensive coordinator at the college level at Minnesota, Michigan and UCLA. He is currently the Bruins' interim head coach for tonight's Cactus Bowl against Kansas State (8 p.m., ESPN).
Odom said on Tuesday that tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley will be calling Missouri's offensive plays on Wednesday night. Lock does not have a timeline "set in stone" for his final decision.
FRAZIER PLAYED THROUGH PAIN
Defensive end Marcell Frazier ended the season as the SEC's individual leader in tackles for a loss with 13.5. He had seven sacks and five quarterback hurries. And Frazier did the vast majority of it in about half a season.
In the season's first six games, Frazier had 14 tackles, three TFLs and one-and-a-half sacks. In the last six, he had 22 tackles, 10.5 for a loss and 5.5 sacks. On Tuesday, he told everybody why.
"I started out the season with a torn quad," he said. "When you look back on it, it's like night and day on the film when I got healthy."
Frazier said he finally started feeling better around the Georgia game, Missouri's sixth of the season. But he never considered sitting out.
"I really wanted to play through it because I felt like I was a leader of the team and I really wanted to be out there with the guys," he said. "I was giving my best effort, but my body could only do so much. It showed up on film. You watch the first couple games, it was like who is this guy?"
Even his teammates didn't know much about the injuries.
"Marcell kept that pretty quiet," Lock said. "There's always little things that happen that you kind of keep under wraps."
"It just speaks volumes to his character. He's a huge competitor," Paul Adams said. "When he got healthy he started tearing offensive lines up. Very proud of him. He's got one more game as a Missouri Tiger and I expect it to be one of his best ones."
DEPLETED LONGHORN DEPTH CHART
The Longhorn team Missouri faces on Wednesday won't exactly be the same one that played during the regular season. Offensive tackle Connor Williams, cornerback Holton Hill and safety DeShon Elliott are skipping the game and entering the NFL Draft. Wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey, tight end Garrett Gray and running back Toneil Carter are suspended. Herman said on Tuesday that linebacker Malik Jefferson is unexpected to play due to turf toe.
"Not good," Herman said when asked how the missing players will impact the Longhorns. "The guys that are still here and still playing are tough dudes. Just another day in the office, so to speak."
The Tigers expressed a bit of surprise that some Texas players are choosing not to play in the game.
"I'm proud of everyone for playing," Adams said. "I'm kind of confused on why they would do that because it's such a fun experience."
"I know our guys just want to go out on a high note. Get that seventh straight win," Frazier said. "None of our guys even considered sitting out."
But Mizzou still expects to see a team with plenty 0f talent that will put forth its best effort.
"They have a lot of depth," Frazier said. "There are still going to be five-stars and four-stars all throughout the roster. That's kind of what they recruit.
"They all look good on paper and they look good on the film."
"I know this: They'll have 11 guys out there when they start the game and so will we," Odom said. "We've focused on trying to go 1-and-0 one more time. It doesn't matter, like I said earlier, who we're playing, where we're playing. Our focus is on us."
And Herman won't listen to any talk that his team isn't all in for this game.
"We haven't been to a bowl game in three years," Herman said. "If that doesn't excite you as a player, then you probably need to quit football and go do something else. Go join a club, something like that."
KICKOFF INFORMATION
TIME: 8:OO P.M. Central
TELEVISION: ESPN/WATCH ESPN
RADIO: The game will be broadcast on the Tiger Radio Network. For a list of affiliates, click here.
