The quarterback carousel is up and running at Mizzou. The team’s starting quarterback for most of 2025, Beau Pribula, intends to enter the transfer portal, PowerMizzou reported Thursday morning and other outlets quickly confirmed.
In his lone season with the Tigers, Pribula completed 182 of his 270 pass attempts (67.4%) and produced 1,941 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran for 297 yards and six touchdowns.
After spending three seasons, including as a redshirt in 2022, at Penn State, where he mostly ran designed quarterback runs as the backup to Drew Allar, Pribula transferred to MU last December after Allar announced he was returning to PSU for the 2025 season.
Pribula started 10 of 12 games for the Tigers this season. He suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter of MU’s loss to Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. He missed the next two games against Texas A&M and Mississippi State before returning for Mizzou’s final two regular-season games, against Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The former Nittany Lion flashed high dual-threat potential in the first couple of games this season, combining for 617 passing yards, 71 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns against Central Arkansas and Kansas. He also excelled at completing shorter throws.
But Pribula struggled in numerous facets, as quarterback play has been a major issue for much of the season.
He didn’t push the ball down the field much, as only 8.5% of his pass attempts traveled at least 20 yards in the air, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s the lowest percentage of any Mizzou quarterback with at least 200 pass attempts in a season since PFF began grading college football players and teams in 2014. For additional context, 15.3% of Brady Cook’s passes traveled at least 20 yards in the air last season. In 2023, that number was 16.8%.
Pribula also struggled to take care of the ball, committing at least one turnover in each game he played other than the season opener against Central Arkansas.
Shortly after news broke of Pribula’s intent to transfer, coach Eli Drinkwitz posted on X that true freshman Matt Zollers will start at quarterback for MU against Virginia in the Dec. 27 Gator Bowl. In the three games in which he attempted more than five passes, Zollers threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns, with an interception and a lost fumble. His completion percentage was just 48.3.
While Zollers struggled statistically, he offered a different style of play compared to Pribula. While Pribula was the more effective runner, Zollers has a stronger arm and was willing to attempt longer passes more frequently. Zollers has three more seasons of eligibility left, while Pribula has just one.
Pribula’s exit has created a clearer path for Zollers to be the starting quarterback next season, although MU could also bring in a signal-caller from the transfer portal, something the Tigers have done in three of the past four seasons (Pribula, Drew Pyne and Jack Abraham).
Whether Mizzou targets a quarterback who will compete for the starting spot or one who is expected to be a backup remains to be seen.
The transfer portal opens Jan. 2, but many high-profile players in college football already have announced their intentions to enter it. The Tigers have been hit particularly hard at receiver, with Marquis Johnson, Josh Manning and James Madison II all reportedly set to exit the program.
Fenuku intends to transfer
Reserve offensive lineman Henry Fenuku also intends to transfer, as first reported by 247Sports and confirmed on Fenuku’s social media platforms Thursday. Fenuku and Pribula both have been removed from MU’s online roster page. Fenuku, a freshman, received a four-star rating out of high school and enrolled early at Mizzou. He played 20 snaps this season, all in blowouts, against Central Arkansas, Louisiana and UMass. A native of Ghana, Fenuku is listed at 6-foot-3 and 298 pounds.
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