Anonymous opposing coach says Missouri's plan at quarterback is 'risky'

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz has a decision to make at quarterback, but according to one anonymous coach — whatever his ultimate decision ends up being, it won’t matter in the long run.

The quarterback battle will come down to either former Miami backup Jake Garcia, redshirt freshman Sam Horn and 2022 starter Brady Cook. Cook finished last season throwing 2,739 yards (eighth best in the SEC), 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions. But, the Tigers finished the season 6-7 under Cook’s leadership last season, and that’s become the unfortunate standard at Missouri under Drinkwitz.

“They don’t seem to have a conference-caliber quarterback. Betting on (Jake) Garcia to figure it out after that run at Miami is risky,” the coach said, via Athlon Sports. “Eli (Drinkwitz) has the five-star kid from St. Louis (Luther Burden III) and nothing close to that caliber around him on offense. They’ve got to identify playmakers and get it going if this staff is going to make it.”

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A five-star recruit in the Class of 2022, Luther Burden was the top wide receiver recruit in his year. In his freshman season, he had 45 receptions for 375 yards and six touchdowns. Burden had another two touchdowns on the ground. On top of all that, he also returned a punt for a touchdown. He’s only expected to get better in 2023.

But around him — there isn’t much else to write home about. On top of that, Garcia comes to Missouri mostly inexperienced in college football, let alone the SEC. He played in one game as a freshman before suffering a season-ending ankle injury. In 2022, he was the backup quarterback to Tyler Van Dyke.

Garcia played high school football at Loganville (Ga.) Grayson, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 53 overall recruit in the 2021 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

Horn would be the third option on paper, but potentially has the best ceiling of Cook and Garcia, as he was a top-15 quarterback in the 2022 class and enters the upcoming season as a redshirt freshman.

Missouri kicks its 2023 season off on August 31 against South Dakota, and will also compete against Middle Tennessee State and Memphis during three of the first four weeks of the season before diving in to conference play in late September. That gives Drinkwitz time to share snaps under center and find a true starter by the end of non-conference action.