Eli Drinkwitz on Missouri quarterback battle after one game: 'None of y'all's opinions matter'

Missouri might be one game into their season but they still haven’t made their quarterback choice officially official. Even so, Eli Drinkwitz says the Tigers are going to make that call on their own and without the help of anyone who’s on the outside looking in.

Drinkwitz had quite the response to a question regarding the quarterback battle in Columbia in his postgame press conference after his team’s 35-10 win over South Dakota. After a glowing review of Brady Cook, last night’s starter, one media member assumed that that meant Cook was the QB1. That was not the case, though, as Drinkwitz made it clear that their thoughts and opinions did not matter whatsoever within their program.

“No, it doesn’t (mean Cook is the starting quarterback). It sounds like I love the young man,” said Drinkwitz. “But I’m not going to let any of y’all decide, I’m not going to let public perception decide.”

“We’ll make a decision within these walls and we’ll go with it. But I’ll be honest – None of y’all’s opinions matter at all. So write up what you want, say what you want. It don’t matter. Nobody cares,” Drinkwitz said. “In this locker room? Nobody cares. They don’t. We’re going to prove it on the field. Nobody cares. So you can write your opinion if you want to.”

Cook, last year’s full-time starter, was the starter again in Thursday night’s 25-point win over the Coyotes. He finished his 22nd appearance as a Tiger by going 17/21 for 172 yards and two touchdowns overall.

Then, after going up 28-3 at halftime, Sam Horn, a redshirt freshman, former four-star prospect, and Top-15 QB in 2022, checked in. He finished his second collegiate appearance by completing 3/5 passes for 54 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

At this point, Drinkwitz sounds as though he’s done with the conversation with those not inside Missouri’s program. To close, he actually almost channeled a fellow SEC coach when it came to how he feels about still talking to them about the ongoing quarterback competition.

“I’m almost gonna go Nick Saban – ‘I’m not gonna tell you! So quit asking!’. But I’m not.”

Drinkwitz shares thoughts on quarterback battle following win

One of the biggest headlines coming into 2023 for Missouri is that they still have not settled on a full-time starting quarterback. The battle is currently between Brady Cook and redshirt freshman Sam Horn.

Eli Drinkwitz shared his initial thoughts on the quarterback battle after getting to see Brady Cook in the first half, then Sam Horn in the second half on Thursday evening.

“Yeah, I mean, Brady scored 28. Sam scored seven. So that’s my initial thoughts,” Drinkwitz said. “We’ll go back and look at the tape and see what it was. But at the end of the day, we’re judged on who gets the team in the end zone the most.”