Mizzou football: Tigers are fortunate to have QB in an unfortunate East

Mizzou football has one of the top quarterbacks in the conference in Kelly Bryant.

The rivals for the Mizzou football team have had some misfortune at the quarterback position.

With Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks hurt in Saturday’s game, backup QB Kyle Trask led the Gators to a come-from-behind victory Saturday against Kentucky.

The backups QBs in the SEC have fared pretty well this season, especially in three situations in the East where the backup signal callers now will try to lead their teams.

Kentucky lost starter Terry Wilson for the season after a Week 2 injury. Wilson tore his right patellar tendon. Sawyer Smith stepped in and nearly pulled off the upset over No. 9 Florida. Smith threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. He drove his team down field for a potential game-winning field goal that was missed.

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In South Carolina, Ryan Hilinski has completed 69 percent of his passes. Gamecocks senior Jake Bentley is sidelined for the season with a foot injury. And now Franks will miss the rest of the season with a dislocated right ankle, the latest as nearly half of the East starters are out before Week 4.

For Missouri, senior transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant has led the Tigers to a 2-1 record, and has positioned himself as one of the top QBs in the conference. Bryant has thrown for 798 yards in three games, which ranks third behind LSU’s Joe Burrow and Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.

Missouri’s quarterback depth might not be as strong as some of the other teams in the SEC, but that’s OK. Two freshmen sit behind Bryant in Taylor Powell and Connor Bazelak. When the Tigers needed to turn to their No. 2 guy in the past, they happened to be freshman.

In 2013, Maty Mauk stepped in and helped keep Mizzou on track for the SEC East crown when James Franklin missed a month. Two years later, Drew Lock took over for Mauk as a freshman and started the rest of the way.

Missouri’s lack of depth is because the NCAA ruled Shawn Robinson ineligible for this season after he transferred from TCU, while junior Lindsey Scott Jr. decided to transfer to Nicholls State this month.

Florida and Kentucky have juniors to turn to, but sometimes freshman will lead the way. The Gamecocks are seeing that for now with Hilinski.

Next. Mizzou football: Tigers take down Redhawks in shutout victory. dark

Good luck to Franks, Wilson and Bentley as they recover from their injuries.

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