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Missouri has been in search of a quarterback through the transfer portal to solidify its roster heading into fall camp, and it found that signal-caller on Monday. Jack Abraham, former Southern Miss and Mississippi State QB, announced on Twitter that he will head to the SEC East and join coach Eli Drinkwitz' Tigers. 

Abraham enjoyed a tremendous three-year career at Southern Miss from 2018-20. He threw for 7,067 yards and 41 touchdowns in 27 games. He threw for 3,496 yards and 19 touchdowns in 13 games in 2019, which made him just the third Golden Eagle quarterback to throw for top the 3,000-yard mark in a single season. He threw for 1,224 yards and seven touchdowns in five games in 2020 before opting out of the remainder of the season following a concussion suffered on Oct. 31. 

Abraham transferred to Mississippi State for his senior season in 2021 but never saw the field. He suffered another concussion and a facial injury in an accident prior to the start of fall camp, and then Will Rogers went on to establish himself as one of the SEC's best quarterbacks during the fall. Abraham was cleared to return to action on April 11, 2022.

Abraham will be the front-runner

Abraham will join a Missouri team that is inexperienced at the quarterback position. Sophomore Brady Cook threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns behind Connor Bazelak last season; Bazelak, meanwhile, transferred to Indiana in the offseason. Tyler Macon saw spot duty in three games last season, and was widely regarded as the top contender to Cook for the top spot on the depth chart. 

There is another threat, though. Four-star freshman Sam Horn out of Collins Hill, Georgia, was one of the centerpieces of Missouri's 2022 recruiting class. The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder threw for 6,236 yards and 63 touchdowns over the last two seasons, and led Collins Hill to the AAAAAAA state title in 2021.

With that said, Abraham will have a great chance to beat out the youngsters during fall camp after enjoying a successful college career since the start of the 2018 season.

Was Mizzou desparate?

The Tigers missed out on several high-profile transfers including Jayden Daniels (LSU), JT Daniels (West Virginia) and Gerry Bohanon (USF). Does that show a lack of faith in the quarterbacks that were either on campus or arriving soon? Not necessarily.

Bazelak was a veteran whose leadership and experience was incredibly valuable to a team that is in search of its first division title since 2014. Whether Abraham wins the job or not, he will set the same kind of example and, more importantly, create a culture of competition that will benefit the entire quarterback room. 

Championship programs create situations where players fight for their jobs every day of the year. Abraham's transfer signals to the rest of the crew that they have to be ready for a fight once fall camp starts. That will make the entire program better, even if he doesn't end camp at the top spot on the depth chart.