Meet Matt Zollers, the teenager who holds Mizzou's season in his hands

When Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula was carted off the field Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee, the Tigers’ season suddenly belonged to someone else.

That someone is a 19-year-old true freshman who had thrown just six college passes.

Matt Zollers didn’t flinch.

Inserted midway through the third quarter of Missouri’s 17-10 loss to Vanderbilt, the freshman from Royersford, Pennsylvania, gave the Tigers a spark at a moment when their offense had stalled. His first two drives ended inside scoring range — one producing a field-goal attempt, the next a touchdown that tied the game.

“He played really big,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said afterward. “The moment wasn’t too big for him.”

Zollers completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and a fourth-down touchdown to tight end Jude James. He also engineered a last-minute drive that came within inches of sending the game to overtime, as Kevin Coleman Jr. was stopped just shy of the goal line after catching a Hail Mary pass.

Those throws were the first glimpse of what Drinkwitz has called Missouri’s quarterback of the future. The future appears to have arrived early.

Zollers joined Missouri in January as one of the most highly rated quarterback recruits in program history. The former four-star prospect ranked among the nation’s top 10 passers in the 2025 class, according to scouting services. He chose the Tigers over schools such as Georgia and Penn State.

At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he earned praise throughout spring practice for his arm strength and willingness to attack tight windows. Teammates say his confidence stood out from the start.

“He prepped like a starter every week,” defensive back Daylan Carnell said. “Nothing he did Saturday really surprised us.”

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Zollers had served as the backup since Week 1, when redshirt junior Sam Horn broke his right tibia. He saw only spot duty in blowout wins before being thrust into the spotlight in Nashville.

Missouri trailed by a touchdown when Zollers took over. Against one of the SEC’s top defenses, he looked poised, converting three separate fourth-down plays and spreading the ball among six receivers.

Center Connor Tollison, who snapped to both Pribula and Zollers, described the freshman’s approach as fearless.

“He’s going to lay it on the line for the team,” Tollison said. “He did everything you could ask for when his number was called.”

Even his lone mistake, a mishandled exchange with running back Jamal Roberts that became a Vanderbilt takeaway, came in an aggressive attempt to make a play.

With Pribula sidelined indefinitely by a serious ankle injury, Missouri’s offense now belongs to Zollers. The Tigers are off this week before hosting No. 3 Texas A&M on Nov. 8. That is a daunting first start for any quarterback, let alone one in his first semester of college.

Drinkwitz insisted the playbook will remain open and that he will trust Zollers to run a similar offense to the one that has carried Missouri to a 6-2 record.

“He’s got a bright future,” Tollison said. “Now, it’s his time.”

For a team still chasing a strong finish and, potentially, a College Football Playoff appearance, that future can’t come soon enough.

Saturday’s loss confirmed Missouri’s season won’t go as originally planned, but Zollers’ debut offered something valuable in its aftermath: proof that the Tigers may already have their next leader under center.