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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri quarterback Sam Horn will miss "an extended period of time" with the leg injury he suffered during the Tigers' season opener, coach Eli Drinkwitz said Friday.

Drinkwitz, talking on the SEC Network's morning show, still didn't have a specific diagnosis or timeline for Horn, but that he's bracing for a significant absence confirms the severity of the injury.

"It's still a little bit of a wait-and-see game," he said.

If Horn's injury keeps him out for most or all of the 2025 season, which would fit the definition of extended, it could end his college football career. Though he has eligibility to play in 2026 and could seek a medical waiver for this year, if he misses it, Horn has already signed a contract to join the Los Angeles Dodgers as a pitcher.

In a particularly unfortunate twist for a player who was making his return from Tommy John surgery on Thursday, this injury could further set back the start of Horn's professional baseball career.

"You hurt for the young man because last year was taken away from him for a different reason," Drinkwitz said after the game. "This year, he’s going to have to face another injury, and don’t know how long it’ll be."

Horn was injured while running the ball on a first-half gadget play that saw both him and fellow QB Beau Pribula in the game. That duo was supposed to split halves as the final stage of their competition to be the Tigers' starting quarterback, but Horn's injured derailed that plan. He was later spotted watching the game on crutches with his right leg in a full brace or cast.

The hit to his leg that Horn took on his rushing attempt was an accidental byproduct of a wrinkle Mizzou hoped to add to its offense this season — one that is now off the table for the foreseeable future.

"We had had a two-quarterback system planned," Drinkwitz told SEC This Morning. "We'd repped it. In fact, we'd even talked about opening the game with it."

Instead, Pribula being named the MU starter is only a formality this point, given Horn's injury. True freshman Matt Zollers will be the backup quarterback.