Next man up: Freshman 4-star Matt Zollers stepping up as backup
With the official announcement Tuesday that Sam Horn will miss an extended amount of time, the Missouri Tigers are turning to a true freshman as the backup quarterback.
Matt Zollers, a four-star recruit and the No. 10 quarterback in the class of 2025, is stepping up. And Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz is confident in his ability.
“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 of Zollers’ performance in Week 1. “… I think our staff has done a really good job of growing Matt, while also allowing Beau (Pribula) and Sam to compete for the job.”
Zollers came into the second-half of the Tigers’ Week 1 game and went 3-for-3 for 58 yards and a touchdown.
Throughout fall camp, Drinkwitz was sure to mention Zollers as a part of the competition for the starting quarterback job. But he always said Zollers was trailing and would have to have a fantastic month.
Zollers impressed, though not enough to end up as one of the primary options.
But once Horn went out for his first snap of the season and had to exit immediately with a leg injury, Zollers’ place on the depth chart moved up a spot. Into a spot where he is one play away from entering the game.
Physical vs Mental
Drinkwitz said the question with Zollers isn’t about his physical ability. It’s all mental and maturity now as the 19-year old steps onto the field.
“I think the maturity question, that’s what I actually spoke to him about maybe a week ago, and then brought him in and talked to him about it this week,” Drinkwitz said. “Just, there’s just got to be a maturity and growth. Now he’s no longer a freshman who’s just having a good time and going out. Of course, he wouldn’t have gone out to Harpos because he’s under age. But … now he’s, he’s focused on what he’s got to do in order to be prepared. Because at any point he could go in the game.”
Part of what has helped Zollers’ development is help from current Tiger starter Pribula. Both come from Pennsylvania, going to high school just 1.5 hours away from each other. And while Zollers was in high school, Pribula was at Penn State.
“I’ve helped Matt ever since he got here,” Pribula said. “I kind of take that as as my job, just being, I’ve known Matt since before we were in here. Back when I was at Penn State and he was playing high school football in Pennsylvania, just both being from Pennsylvania, I feel like I take a little bit of responsibility for helping him out, just being a freshman. So, especially now that, you know he has to step up, you know, I’ve just, I set my schedule and my process and just taking him under my wing as much as possible to help some of that stuff.”
Moving forward
Zollers will end up with more reps under his belt this season than was expected when he got on campus coming off a lower-leg injury that ended his senior season of high school. But the coaching staff and team is confident he can handle the responsibility. Both now and moving forward.
“We were actually very cognizant in fall camp and summer walk throughs and during spring to make sure he was growing and developing reps,” Drinkwitz said. “Because, make no mistake about it, Matt Zollers is the future for us at the quarterback position here.“
