‘I have a lot of confidence’: Drinkwitz believes Mizzou quarterback Simmons is ready

TAMPA, Fla. — Mizzou football coach Eli Drinkwitz took the stage at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street in front of a large Monday crowd at SEC Media Days. Before he stepped up to the lectern in the grand ballroom, he spoke to a smaller group of local media members, discussing Missouri’s quarterback situation.

In recent history, the Tigers have loved themselves a quarterback battle. From Brady Cook competing with Sam Horn in 2023 to Horn then duking it out with Beau Pribula in 2025, the position has not been a gimme. However, Drinkwitz quashed any speculation for 2026 by naming transfer Austin Simmons the starter in March following spring practices.

“I have a lot of confidence and have seen his confidence grow in our offense,” Drinkwitz said about Simmons. “I think it’s been a little bit new for him to learn.

“We’re different than where he came from, but now that he’s kind of in a rhythm and a routine, you can really see his confidence grow with the offense and with the offensive style.”

This offseason, the Tigers added Chip Lindsey to their staff as the offensive coordinator and Garrett Riley as the quarterbacks coach. When asked about the challenges of working with both a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator, Drinkwitz put it simply.

“That’s college football,” he said.

“If you look across the conference, you’ve either got a new coordinator or a new quarterback, and the ones that don’t (are) probably a little bit ahead of us.”

Drinkwitz said that he believes Mizzou’s schedule is conducive to bringing guys up to speed. He also identified the Week 2 contest against Kansas and the Week 4 game against Mississippi State as challenges.

“You know, we really don’t have any margin for error right there,” Drinkwitz said. “We’re going to have to be really sound at the quarterback position.”

“Something to prove” has become Mizzou’s mantra, and Simmons embodies that. He was named the starter at Ole Miss entering last season before suffering an injury in Week 2. By the time Simmons was available again, his backup, Trinidad Chambliss, had taken over the starting job.

“We want those guys with the right kind of chip on their shoulder,” Drinkwitz said. “I think Austin has handled himself like a pro. He hasn’t let the scars of last year bother him. He’s just looking to run his race and run it at a really high level.”

Simmons’ teammates have a similar respect for the quarterback that Drinkwitz does. Running back Jamal Roberts noted that Simmons is “not afraid to throw it.”

“He’s definitely taking charge,” Roberts said. “He’s keeping everybody on the same boat, same page, and we’re doing the same thing with him.”

Ultimately, Mizzou’s offense needs to be better if the Tigers want to win the big-time games. In 2025, the Tigers ranked dead last in the Southeastern Conference in passing yards per game (188). Ole Miss led the SEC with 313.3 passing yards per game.

The Rebels recorded 26 passing touchdowns to Mizzou’s 15 and threw eight interceptions to Mizzou’s 11.

“We have done a really good job in the past of being proficient in the run game, but in games of need, we weren’t able to complete passes and create explosives the way we needed to,” Drinkwitz said. “You look at some of the tough losses that we’ve had in the last two years, we weren’t able to push the ball down the field when we needed to, and that’s something that’s got to change.”

Drinkwitz, Simmons and company will look to kick the season off on a strong note when Mizzou takes on Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 in Columbia.