*This story is part of our 2010-11 Mizzou in Review series.*
Love him or hate him, Blaine Gabbert has been the face of Missouri football for the past two seasons.
Leading the team to 18 wins during the two-year span as a starter, the junior quarterback put up historic numbers and continued to bring relevancy to the rising Missouri football program.
Gabbert threw for 6,822 yards and 40 touchdowns in 30 games as a Tiger. His yard and touchdown marks rank fourth and third in school history, respectively. In addition to his individual accomplishments, the team’s double-digit victory total in 2010 was only the fourth in the program’s history. Gabbert’s 132.59 career pass efficiency rating is also the second highest in school history.
While some fans remain bitter over back-to-back bowl losses to Navy and Iowa, the Ballwin native’s numbers and win total speak for themselves. The national recognition that coach Gary Pinkel has brought to the Tiger program has been accelerated by Gabbert’s rise into the spotlight, and the 6-foot-5-inch junior went No. 10 in the 2011 NFL draft.
Forgoing his senior year at Missouri, Gabbert said his decision to leave was in the best for he and his family.
“This is definitely a bittersweet day for me,” Gabbert said following his NFL declaration. “These last three years have been an unbelievable experience for me, and I’ll miss being at Mizzou, but I’m definitely looking forward to this next stage in my life. I’m so grateful to have been part of such a great program and all of the people who have helped me get to this point.”
Pinkel, who has led the Tigers to 77 victories in his 10 years at Missouri, commended Gabbert’s contributions to the program.
“He’s been an outstanding leader for our team,” Pinkel said in a news release. “It’s been a privilege to coach him and have him as part of our program. Blaine is excited to take on a new set of challenges at the next level, and I’m confident he’ll be a great representative of Mizzou Football going forward.”
A competitor and scholar, Gabbert has made his mark on Missouri athletics, and will continue to represent the school at the highest level.
