Transfer QB-market exodus has left Mizzou on the outside looking in, what’s next?

Dec 15, 2024 | Uncategorized

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Duke v Wake Forest
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Miller Moss’ commitment to Louisville has left Mizzou fans wondering what options are left for them at signal caller

Brady Cook running out of eligibility has created a quarterback-sized gap for next year’s Mizzou team. The current roster options haven’t shown enough on the field to take over the top spot, which has left head coach Eli Drinkwitz no choice but to explore the transfer portal market, a domain where he has succeeded during his Missouri tenure.

Unfortunately, a wrench was thrown in the Tigers’ quarterback plan on Saturday as Southern California transfer quarterback Miller Moss—ESPN’s No. 3 transfer quarterback and No. 10 overall transfer—announced his commitment to head coach Jeff Brohm and the Louisville Cardinals of the ACC.

With five of ESPN’s top seven transfer quarterbacks already announcing their future destinations, the top options are dwindling for Drinkwitz & Co. However, all hope is not lost, as there are a fair number of palatable options for Mizzou that still give them a chance at contending next season. Let’s take a look at three of them.

Fernando Mendoza | California

Stanford v California
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This is very wishful thinking for Mizzou, as Georgia, UCLA, Indiana, and Wisconsin have already been mentioned as contenders for the six-foot-five signal caller’s commitment, and we aren’t sure how much the Tigers have been involved, given their propensity for Moss. Georgia stands as the only SEC option of the aforementioned list; however, Kevin Coleman Jr.’s commitment to Mizzou gives the Tigers a clear No. 1 option at receiver for Mendoza to throw to should he make the leap.

In Dan Keegan’s quarterback piece described Mendoza as a “goldilocks option” and it is clear to see why. Mendoza has two years of eligibility left but is heralded as a quarterback with serious pro potential, so picking him up under the hopes that he performs and lands a spot in the NFL draft is in the cards. This is especially important, as keeping the quarterback room open for an emergence of either Sam Horn or Matt Zollers is key. Both highly touted quarterbacks are coming off injury and likely need one more year of fine-tuning before being ready.

Per Dan, Mendoza’s main weakness is taking sacks — he took 41 this season — but let’s look at his strengths. Coming back from all the sacks, though, along with the 98-yard drive against Stanford, showcase what people like the most about him— he is tough as nails. He takes hits and gets right back up. Does that remind you of anyone, Mizzou fans? Not only that, but Mendoza also has a great arm and is very accurate, ranking second in the ACC with a 69% completion percentage with just over 3,000 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions.

More in-depth, his adjusted completion percentage (which is basically completion percentage but accounts for throwaways not being incompletions) is 75.5%.

Provided from PFF

He excels better than Brady Cook by 8% in passes 20+ yards downfield, but the real improvement he brings is in the intermediate passing game. From passes 10-19 yards down the field, Mendoza was 61/94 for 926 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. By comparison, Cook was 29/60 for 504 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Mendoza has ties to Indiana and Miami, which stand as two very quarterback-needy schools, so it will be tough for Mizzou to pry him away. However, his strength comes in an area that Kirby Moore’s offense requires— the intermediate passing game.

Michael Van Buren Jr. | Mississippi State

Missisippi State v Ole Miss
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This is mostly influenced by Kevin Coleman Jr.’s commitment, but you can’t deny the improvement of Van Buren this year for the Bulldogs. He was placed mid-season into one of the most incompetent offenses in all of college football and still managed to improve over the course of the season.

Van Buren was the No. 57 recruit in last year’s ESPN 300, making a last second flip from Oregon to Mississippi State, but entered the portal when the Bulldogs set their sights on Jackson Arnold (who just committed to Auburn). The only real gripe with Van Buren is his acquisition could seem like a slap in the face to a guy like Matt Zollers, as he would be coming in as a true sophomore with plenty of eligibility left.

That being said, this is a business, and the fact is quarterbacks who have played on an SEC-field are a lot more proven than a PA-based quarterback who missed the entirety of his high school senior season. Van Buren excels in a variety of areas that are tailor-made for Moore’s offense, and we know he already has a lot of chemistry with Coleman, who is set to be the Tigers’ new WR1.

Provided by PFF

Van Buren is an amazing passer in the intermediate game but needs improvement in the short and deep passing game. In comparison to Cook, he is about the same on deep throws, a lot better in the intermediate, and a lot worse in short passing. However, a true freshman starter with a bad offense unable to make easy, short passes isn’t that farfetched, and being accurate in the intermediate game isn’t something that grows on trees.

If Missouri wants some real competition at the quarterback spot, bringing in a guy like Van Buren could be ideal. He has also seen what it is like to play for a horrendous offense against amazing SEC defenses (just look at the Mississippi State schedule) so a vast improvement under a much more experienced offense in CoMo is plausible.

Maalik Murphy | Duke

Duke v Miami
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In Dan’s second quarterback piece, he classified Maalik Murphy as “Joe Milton 2.0” which is about the most accurate thing I have ever heard. If you want me to describe him, I’ll give you one word— Gunslinger. Murphy was graded 72.2 by PFF on short throws, 56.9 on intermediate, and a whopping 91.5 on deep throws.

Your question at this point must be, “Adeen, why did you just glorify two quarterbacks who are amazing in the intermediate as fits for the offense and now you’re showing a quarterback who is horrendous in that same facet?” Great question. The reality is this— a good deep thrower can take you very far in today’s version of college football.

Mizzou’s offense struggled deeply in generating explosive plays, ranking in the 15th percentile in passing explosive plays per GameonPaper. There is a very creative method of offense that Mizzou can fabricate, which centers around Murphy’s strengths.

This team has been historically better at run blocking than pass blocking, and an emphasis on the run is required with Murphy. If this team can create a good running offense again next year, it opens up the play action which can make this team very dangerous with a guy like him. After all, Duke had one of the poorest overall offensive units in the country because they were unable to establish the run.

Provided by PFF

With a clear augmentation of wideout talent at Mizzou, Murphy’s weaknesses can become strengths. After all, Kirby Moore turned a rather pragmatic Brady Cook into an extremely efficient quarterback in 2023. Can he do the same with Maalik Murphy? I’d like to think so, but he’s a very high-risk, high-reward option.

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