Here’s what the Missouri football quarterback room looks like heading into fall camp

It won’t be for a starter, but there will be somewhat of a quarterback competition in Columbia, Missouri, this upcoming fall.

No, Brady Cook will not be involved. The Missouri football starting QB is back for a third straight year, and he is running essentially uncontested. But the Tigers do still have to settle on a backup, with one transfer, a walk-on, a freshman and an in-house option in the running, for now.

Cook recovered from offseason shoulder surgery after the 2022 season, won Missouri’s starting job for the second year running and proceeded to throw for 3,317 yards and 21 touchdowns over the course of the 2023 campaign, which he capped by securing Cotton Bowl offensive MVP honors in a win over Ohio State.

The main question this fall camp, as Cook returns as the unchallenged starter in his final year of eligibility, is about the depth behind him.

Here is how Missouri’s quarterback room looks heading into preseason practices. Every scholarship player and any notable walk-on is mentioned:

The options for Missouri football at quarterback

Starter: Brady Cook, sr.

Reserves: Drew Pyne, so.; JR Blood, sr.; Brett Brown, so.; Aidan Glover, fr.; Sam Horn (out), so.

Drew Pyne transferred to Missouri in the spring from Arizona State, where he began the 2023 season as a starter before suffering an injury. He started his career at Notre Dame, where he started 10 games in 2022 and threw for 2,021 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.

That’s a good backup to have on the roster, if he goes ahead and secures the No. 2 spot. He did not go through spring camp with the Tigers, which is a setback, but he is by far the most accomplished QB not named Brady Cook on the roster and available to play.

Last season’s backup, Sam Horn, is likely sidelined for the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the spring.

JR Blood, the older brother of promising sophomore MU wide receiver Daniel Blood, transferred in as a preferred walk-on from Southern, joining fellow walk-on Brett Brown and freshman recruit Aidan Glover, who is a three-star prospect out of Tennessee and in camp looked more like a long-term project than a serviceable SEC backup as a rookie.

The upside

Cook has two full years of starting experience at the same team under his belt, which not many teams in the league can boast. Indeed, here is who can: Ole Miss (Jaxson Dart); Texas (Quinn Ewers); and Mizzou.

That’s a good recipe for offensive success.

Here’s another couple: Cook has all seven of his top pass-catchers from last season, including the likely future NFL first-rounder Luther Burden III. Mizzou has three starters back from last year’s offensive line and added two top-200 available transfers, SMU’s Marcus Bryant and Oklahoma’s Cayden Green, to plug the remaining gaps.

If you could draw it up, that’s about what it would look like.

One question or concern

Are the Tigers prepared if Cook is forced to spend time on the sideline?

It’s the doomsday scenario, but one worth discussing. In the interest of hypotheticals: The Tribune expects Missouri to turn to Pyne if Cook does spend any time off the field. 

With Horn, Missouri had a player who had at least gone through a season under offensive coordinator Kirby Moore’s scheme. Now, it would be forced to turn to a player without a live snap in a Mizzou jersey.

Pyne has plenty of experience in college football, but it would still be a season-altering change if his number is called.

Needs for team success?

The schedule, talent level and the expanded format of the College Football Playoff all make a meaningful December game very possible for Mizzou.

To get there, Cook has to take the next step. A costly fourth-quarter interception against Georgia, when the Tigers were at midfield, driving and in a one-score contest, may have cost MU a shot at heading to the SEC Championship game. Similarly, some untimely picks against LSU midseason didn’t help as Mizzou suffered its first loss of the year.

The starter has shown he can get it done. You need only look at Missouri’s last quarter of competitive football — a 14-point, Cotton Bowl-clinching 15 minutes against Ohio State in which Cook was picture perfect — to see that he can.

Now, it has to be Texas A&M; or Alabama; or Oklahoma in the regular season.

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