Mizzou football head coach Eli Drinkwitz recaps quarterback Matt Zollers' chaotic 2025 season and what the plan is for him in 2026.
COLUMBIA — Missouri quarterback Matt Zollers’ 2025 season did not go to plan.
A season that could have been centered around development and rehab ended up throwing the true freshman into a blazing wildfire. Quarterbacks one and two Beau Pribula and Sam Horn both suffered season-ending injuries, causing Zollers to burn his redshirt and be thrust into the starting lineup.
He started three games for the Tigers, picking up a win against Mississippi State while losing to Texas A&M and Virginia. Zollers threw for 503 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions on the season, making lemonade out of a batch of rotten lemons.
His debut was even more chaotic, as he was inserted early in the second half of Missouri’s game against Vanderbilt in place of Pribula, who dislocated his ankle on a goal-line rushing attempt. Zollers’ mid-game heroics nearly led Missouri to an upset win in Nashville, coming up just inches short on a hail mary throw to Kevin Coleman Jr.
“He was really thrown into some unadvantageous situations,” Drinkwitz said. “I thought he handled it remarkably well, and I think he just got to continue to grow and get better, develop everyday.”
What was projected to be a developmental season in 2025 could now be a developmental season in 2026. Signs point toward Zollers potentially redshirting the 2026 season and using the season for development.
Missouri brought in four-star Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons to take the reins under center and veteran signal-caller Nick Evers to provide depth and experience in the quarterback room. Both present viable cases to be placed above Zollers in the depth chart — the only way to find out is through competition.
"Core value No. 1 is always compete," Drinkwitz said. "So there's got to have to be added competition. And we've got that with Austin Simmons, with Nick Evers, with Gavin Sidwar and with Matt Zollers."
Drinkwitz isn’t ruling out Zollers battling for the starting job, though. He has one goal for his quarterback.
“To be the very best quarterback that he can be,” Drinkwitz said. “Compete every single day, to be the best version of himself, give himself the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback.”
While competing for the starting job is in the cards, it isn’t the end-all be-all for Zollers’ 2026 season — he has plenty to gain from any way the depth chart shakes out.
“If he doesn't (win the job), be the very best teammate that he can be as he's growing into that role,” Drinkwitz said.
No matter if he starts, is the QB2 or even further down the depth chart, Zollers is a building block in Missouri’s future, and his 2025 season showed flashes of it.