As it has been demonstrated over the last four years, the Missouri Tigers have one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football in Drew Lock. Lock is on pace for nearly 4,000 passing yards and over 30 touchdowns right now in his senior season at Mizzou. Lock is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the 2019 NFL Draft class and is likely to be one of the first few quarterbacks taken off the board. But the lingering question for Mizzou is who is going to take over the helm at quarterback after Lock’s departure. Mizzou may have potentially just found its answer.
According to a report by The State’s Matt Connolly. Former Clemson Tigers QB Kelly Bryant, who led Clemson to an ACC Championship and College Football Playoff appearance in 2017, will be visiting Mizzou this weekend during their game against the #12 Kentucky Wildcats. Bryant has graduated from Clemson and announced his decision to transfer after Clemson HC Dabo Swinney named Trevor Lawrence the starting quarterback earlier in the season. As a starter, Bryant has gone 16-2 with over 3,200 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, over 800 rushing yards, and 13 rushing touchdowns. Bryant was also the backup to former Clemson and current Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who led the Tigers to a National Championship victory in 2017.
Mizzou is going to have a vast hole to fill at quarterback once the current season is over with Drew Lock graduating. Current redshirt sophomore Lindsey Scott Jr., a JUCO transfer, was originally thought to be the successor to Lock, but Scott has not even been traveling with the team on certain weeks, so he is up in the air. The Tigers will also have a freshman coming in, Connor Bazelak, who is currently ranked as the 10th best pocket passer in the class of 2019 by ESPN. Kelly Bryant is obviously looking to start immediately, and Mizzou could practically guarantee him the starting job. If Mizzou lands Bryant, Bazelak could be redshirted and because of the NCAA’s new redshirt rule, could play in Mizzou’s first four games next season without losing any eligibility.
Bryant is a potential NFL talent and being able to come in and start with an SEC team such as Mizzou should be an extremely attractive opportunity for him. Bryant has already visited with the North Carolina Tar Heels and then visited with the Arkansas Razorbacks last weekend. A decision from Bryant could come shortly after his visit to Columbia this weekend.
