Sam Horn injury: Eli Drinkwitz reveals Missouri teammates' reaction from sideline

Heading into Week 1 of the regular season, Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz continued to oversee a quarterback competition between Beau Pribula and Sam Horn. Both were planning on playing in the opener to decide the long-term starter. That went sideways, though, when Horn left the game with an injury after one snap.

Horn would later be seen leaving on crutches. As Drinkwitz later shared, the air came out of the sidelines, and everyone was devastated for a player and teammate who they all have a ton of respect for.

“Yeah, just devastated,” Eli Drinkwitz said. “He’s a voted captain because his teammates care about him. You hurt for a young man because last year was taken away from him from a different reasoning [Tommy John surgery], and now this year he’s gonna have to face another injury, and don’t know how long it’ll be. There’s something that wears you down mentally in those things.”

Sam Horn came to Missouri as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022. He was the 213th-ranked player nationally and the 14th-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle. Coming into the 2025 season, Horn had played in four career games and had completed three of eight pass attempts for 54 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. In 2024, Horn would undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow.

On his first snap of the 2025 season against Central Arkansas, Sam Horn ran on a designed QB power play. Getting to the second level, Horn was taken out by a defender below the belt, and he struggled to get up with what turned out to be a leg injury.

“You can’t second-guess it. You just gotta face it every day, and we’ll face it with him.” Drinkwitz said. “But you know, I know he’s really close with Connor [Tollison] and Brett [Norfleet], and I know Zion [Young] and him are really close and they were hugging it out at halftime. So, we’re all really disappointed.”

Sam Horn would reportedly undergo an MRI following the game. More testing is expected, and he’s out indefinitely in the meantime. That means Eli Drinkwitz is going to be turning the keys to offense over to transfer quarterback Beau Pribula. He played well in the game against Central Arkansas, but it’s not how anyone wants to win a job.

Missouri is going to be tested in its next game too. Rival Kansas is making the trip to Columbia to renew hostilities. Already 2-0 on the season, the Jayhawks appear to be a contender in the Big 12 this season. The Tigers can expect their best shot.