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Columbia Daily Tribune
Here’s what Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz said about Austin Simmons, QB competition
- Story byColumbia Daily Tribune
- Here’s what Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz said about Austin Simmons, QB competition
Missouri football isn't handing out the title of QB1.
There's a frontrunner rolling into town from Oxford, Mississippi. No question, but Mizzou is going to make its new man earn the job.
"Excited about the quarterback competition that we're going to have this year," Drinkwitz said Thursday, Feb. 26. "Obviously, I think Matt (Zollers) did an excellent job in his opportunity as a true freshman. And, for us, core value number one is 'always compete.' And so there's gonna have to be added competition. And we've got that with Austin Simmons , with Nick Evers , with Gavin Sidwar and with Matt Zollers ."
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So, yes, Missouri will have a quarterback competition in 2026. The Tigers will report for their first spring camp practice on Friday, Feb. 27, and the action will get underway.
That isn't exactly worlds removed from the usual for Mizzou.
More often than not in his seven years at the helm, as the Tigers check in for spring camp in late February, there has been a quarterback competition brewing. Last year, Beau Pribula (now at Virginia ) and Sam Horn battled for the job. Brady Cook was the solidified starter in 2024, but he had to earn the job in both 2022 and 2023 over a varying cast of characters, even splitting reps in Week 1 with Horn in 2023.
More often than not, though, the player widely expected in the preseason to win the job has been QB1 by the games that matter.
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That player, this year, is Austin Simmons.
The lefty from Florida , who spent three years at Ole Miss , was the Rebels' Week 1 starter last year under former coach Lane Kiffin. A Week 2 injury for Simmons, however, opened the door for Trinidad Chambliss , a Division-II transfer, to start in Oxford. Chambliss turned out to be one of the most remarkable stories of the college football season, and Simmons played the role of backup.
Simmons' primary competitor in CoMo is returning second-year Matt Zollers , a former top-100 prospect who was thrown into the fire far earlier than almost anyone could have ever pictured due to injuries to both Pribula and Horn last season, Zollers' rookie season.
The supporting cast: Nick Evers, a college journeyman and former four-star who has spent time at Oklahoma , Wisconsin , and, most recently, UConn ; and true freshman signee Gavin Sidwar, a Pennsylvania native, like Zollers, who was a top-25 QB prospect this cycle.
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More: Five storylines to follow at Missouri football 2026 spring camp
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While not ruling out anything too quickly, the likelihood is that this race is between two players: Simmons and Zollers.
Mizzou really had two options this offseason, after Pribula entered the transfer portal. Bring in a high-profile transfer who Zollers could chase, or bring in a transfer to do the chasing, with the intention of starting Zollers.
Simmons mostly fits the bill of the former, as the player once tabbed as good enough to be QB1 on a team that wound up making the CFP.
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He threw 75 passes for the Rebels last season across eight games, completing 60 percent for 744 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. Nearly half of his passing attempts were thrown 10 or more yards past the line of scrimmage, and Pro Football Focus graded his deep ball ability extremely high with a 92.0 mark out of 100.
Simmons' clearest limitation is his inexperience. He has 259 career snaps. That's less than Pribula had when he arrived at Mizzou.
Believe it or not, it's two fewer snaps than Zollers played with Missouri last season.
"I think (Simmons is) very competitive in nature. I think he's got natural talent as a quarterback, obviously. Very good arm talent, decision-maker. Has the ability to run," Drinkwitz said. "Obviously, hasn't played a ton of football because of the injury last year, but when he has got his opportunity, he's played at a really high level and high clip."
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The fact that Simmons is a lefty adds another wrinkle.
Drinkwitz said he's challenged new QBs coach Garrett Riley and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey to be "conscientious of" in their scripting. But there are also encouraging parts.
"I don't have a lot of history with left-handed quarterbacks, but the truth of it is, if a left-handed quarterback actually ends up playing for you, that they usually turn out to be really good because they have had to overcome a lot of bias," Drinkwitz said.
"You know, you look at Kellen Moore at Boise State , you look at a guy named Steve Young. Those guys had to overcome a lot of bias to get that opportunity, and then they turned out to play really, really well."
Austin Simmons #13 of the Ole Miss Rebels warms up prior to the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl against the Miami Hurricanes at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale.
If Simmons is getting competition, it's from Zollers.
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The 2025 rookie had flashes. At Vanderbilt, he kept Mizzou alive with great moments in his extended debut. He won in his second start against Mississippi State . The touted arm talent is real.
So, too, is his youth.
Zollers didn't show much beyond a fastball, and he only completed 51.1% of his passes. The Mizzou offense looked extremely stagnant against ranked opponents in Texas A&M and Virginia in the bowl game.
Dec 27, 2025; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Matt Zollers (5) throws a pass against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images
But he's being given room for year-to-year growth by jumping straight into another competition.
The Tigers aren't making any final calls in February.
"The goal for him is to be the very best quarterback that he can be, compete every single day to be the best version of himself," Drinkwitz said. "Give himself the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback job here, and if he doesn't, be the very best teammate that he can be as he's growing into that role. I thought he was really thrown into some unadvantageous situations (last season). I thought he handled it remarkably well."
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz talks Austin Simmons, QB battle
