Where Mizzou's quarterback battle starts — and who gets first-team reps — as camp opens

After much deliberation, discussion and dissection, Missouri football finally begins the process of picking its starting quarterback.

Sunday was reporting day for the Tigers' fall camp, with Monday the first day of practice.

Three of the four signal-caller contenders — Tyler Macon, Brady Cook and Jack Abraham, as well as quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan — participated in a media session Sunday to talk about the start of the race for QB1.

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Macon, Cook and Abraham expressed their eagerness to begin competing for the role. Hamdan said the excitement is paced by a strict timeline of about one month to decide who the starter will be, and then make sure they're prepared for the season opener Sept. 1 against Louisiana Tech.

"Exciting is a word you can use," Hamdan said. "There's excitement, there's natural energy. There's also the part of, OK, there's training camp, and then there's live bullets in games."

Macon, Cook, Abraham and highly rated freshman Sam Horn are all expected to be in the running to win the job. Redshirt freshman Tommy Lock and true freshman Brett Brown are on the roster, too.

The room ranges from Abraham, who began his college career in 2016, and the true freshmen in Horn and Brown, starting their college careers six years later.

"We've got old guys, we've got guys that have been here for two years, we've got freshmen," Cook said. "It's a full room with a bunch of different personalities and experience."

Hamdan said there are certain quarterbacks who have earned first cracks at working with the first-team offense.

Both Cook and Macon earned playing time last year, with Macon starting at Georgia and Cook starting the Armed Forces Bowl, while Abraham was a three-year starter at Southern Mississippi and was set to compete for Mississippi State's starting job before an injury sidelined him for the entirety of last season.

One of Cook, Macon or Abraham will get the first opportunity. After that, Hamdan knows the battle could go anywhere.

"There's a little bit of a natural pecking order that these guys deserve in that certain guys will get one-reps to start, and certain guys will get twos," Hamdan said. "Where it goes from there, your guess is as good as ours."

Abraham's presence was months in the making, as Missouri was openly courting transfer quarterbacks throughout the spring.

After JT Daniels and Gerry Bohanon turned down the Tigers, Abraham committed in May. His experience, having battled for starting jobs before, is something he said will help this fall.

In his seventh and final season of college football, Abraham said he wants to see his career through by giving himself a chance to win the job. That's why Abraham was grateful the other quarterbacks welcomed him into the quarterback room with open arms, even as someone competing directly against Macon and Cook.

"They've treated me like I've been here for years," Abraham said. "I'm blessed to be here."

While Abraham earned his shot at Missouri through years of experience, Macon is aiming to earn his own shot this fall after playing as a true freshman last year.

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Macon said he took the offseason to get faster, add size and work on his mental approach to the game. That work is what Macon said puts him in a position to win the competition.

"Just fine-tuning things I've got to work on to win the quarterback competition," Macon said. "Doing the things necessary that I got to do to be that guy."

Cook also said he spent the offseason working on his mental approach to the game. But Cook's focus was on how he can use his skills to properly beat defenses this fall.

While he's had the most playing time over everyone in the quarterback room, Cook said he still wants to show the coaches he's a competitor willing to work in different ways to win the job.

"I've spent a lot more hours, a lot more time in the film room," Cook said. "Playbook, defensive ID, just looking over opponents for the year and that mental side of the game."

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With Macon, Cook and Abraham as the established veterans, that leaves Horn as a player with the most to prove this fall.

"Sam will prove himself like every freshman and have to roll with the threes sometimes," Hamdan said.

But there's already a lot that makes Horn a competitor for the job.

Right away, Hamdan said Horn's arm strength, athleticism and ability to make plays with his feet when he needs to have stood out when the staff has worked with him over the summer.

The staff doesn't view Horn as just a pro-style quarterback as he's been labeled by recruiting services, which runs parallel to Horn's eagerness to learn Missouri's system.

"He's plenty big enough and strong enough to go compete at this level," Hamdan said.

With experience earning first-team opportunities at quarterback to start, Cook, Macon and Abraham have an early advantage.

Hamdan said the quarterback battle comes down to a handful of factors: who can best protect the ball, lead the team effectively and make plays.

The door is open for anyone.

"It's like a new air in the building," Cook said. "It starts today."

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou football quarterback battle underway as fall camp begins