Missouri Tigers quarterback Connor Bazelak is entering the transfer portal, he announced Thursday.
Bazelak was the main option under center for Mizzou football for most of 2020 and 2021, starting 11 of 13 games this season and eight last year.
But Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz opened up the quarterback competition following the end of the regular season and chose to start redshirt freshman Brady Cook over Bazelak against Army in the Armed Forces Bowl on Wednesday night. With a solid performance from Cook in the 24-22 loss and four-star recruit Sam Horn set to join the program next year as well, the writing apparently was on the wall for Bazelak.
"I have loved this school since the day I walked on campus, and it will always have a special place in my heart," Bazelak said in a statement on social media. "This has been a tough decision that I have been thinking about for the last several weeks, but I wanted to be available for my team one last time in the bowl game."
As a redshirt sophomore this season, Bazelak completed 246 of 377 passes (65.3%) for 2,548 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He suffered an injury in the fourth quarter against Vanderbilt on Oct. 30 and then missed the following week against Georgia. He struggled once he returned and was benched in the fourth quarter of two games late in the season.
Bazelak was the SEC co-freshman of the year in 2020. He joined the Tigers in the 2019 signing class out of Archbishop Alter in Dayton, Ohio. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
The Tigers now have Cook, Horn and Tyler Macon as the three main options to compete for the starting quarterback spot in 2022.
