How Mizzou gave Jack Abraham 'full clarity' about where to spend his last year of football

Jack Abraham's college football career was supposed to end in 2020.

He was a redshirt senior, starting for Southern Miss and already renowned as one of the most accurate passers in the nation.

But, Abraham just kept finding more years. He kept getting more years of eligibility.

In 2020, the pandemic spotted him an extra year. In 2021, he ended up earning a medical hardship waiver.

That's led him to 2022, where Abraham will finally, after two years of fighting off injuries and a pandemic, have an opportunity to earn a starting quarterback job in the Southeastern Conference.

"It's been a crazy journey, there's no doubt about it," Abraham said. "I don't know if anybody else had a journey that I've had."

Abraham's journey began in 2016 as a three-star freshman quarterback at Louisiana Tech. By the time it's all said and done, barring any more granted years of eligibility, he'll have played seven years of college football.

Most of those years were spent in Hattiesburg, where he earned the starting job for three seasons. When COVID-19 granted him another year, he aimed high. He aimed for the SEC.

Abraham got his chance to play at the highest level of college football in Starkville. He participated in the spring game but had a concussion take away his chance to play.

That concussion held him out for the entire season, and Abraham didn't know if he would get an opportunity to play again. The NCAA granted him a medical hardship waiver, and he had an extra year of eligibility.

Entering the transfer portal, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, guaranteed playing time wasn't the priority for Abraham.

He said Monday he wanted a chance to prove he can play college football at the highest level.

Abraham's recruitment originally came down to Ole Miss, where his dad once walked on to play football, and Austin Peay. Missouri entered the picture late, but it was a revelation for Abraham.

More: How Mizzou football’s 2022 quarterback plan could be affected by Jack Abraham's commitment

Perhaps the waiver from the NCAA was a sign he was meant to play in the SEC after all.

"As soon as I left that building, that was the first time I actually had some full clarity about what decision I should have made," Abraham said. "I've been feeling really good about the decision and I feel comfortable with the guys, with the coaches. It's a great opportunity for me to go out there and prove what I can do and compete for a starting job."

This offseason, Missouri pursued three transfer quarterbacks. Arizona State's Jayden Daniels chose LSU, Georgia's J.T. Daniels chose West Virginia and Baylor's Gerry Bohanon chose South Florida.

Abraham offers something neither of the previous three transfers have: adaptability.

Across his six seasons, Abraham has played with six different offensive coordinators. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz will be his seventh.

That's six different playbooks to learn, six different offensive minds to win over and aspects to learn.

Abraham is joining an impressionable Missouri offense. It includes a deep receiving corps with five-star phenom Luther Burden, Chance Luper, Mookie Cooper and Dominic Lovett.

That's where his skills as a leader will be on display. These qualities have existed since his high school days seven years ago.

"Jack is a fantastic leader and will make Missouri a better team the second he walks on campus," Chris Cutliffe, Abraham's high school coach at Oxford High told the Tribune. "His work ethic and desire to be great will be obvious from day one."

Abraham has adapted to each situation, learned different terminologies and found different ways to play the game. As a result of that, he's also learned different ways to teach it.

"I got a lot of football," Abraham said. "I think that's gonna be something very valuable that I'll be able to bring to the program."

Those are the intangible aspects Abraham brings. As a football player, Abraham said he prides himself on being accurate.

This was evident during his junior college days at Northwest Mississippi Community College where he threw for 2,949 yards and 23 touchdowns in his one season.

Moving on to Southern Miss, Abraham led the nation in completion percentage in his first season at Hattiesburg. He finished the 2018 season with a 73.1 completion percentage.

Leaving Southern Miss, Abraham passed for 7,067 yards and had a 69.3 completion percentage.

"I see myself as being a very accurate quarterback and putting the ball in the right spots," Abraham said. "That's something I really pride myself on, being a definitive-decision maker, being a quick decision-maker, getting the ball out quick."

More: Mizzou football lands commitment from top-15 quarterback prospect Gabarri Johnson

All the reasons to recruit him were there. Now, Missouri had to convince Abraham to choose MU over his hometown team in Ole Miss and what was most certainly guaranteed playing time at Austin Peay.

Abraham said he was torn through the recruiting process, but that chanced when Missouri entered the picture.

What helped was MU wide receiver coach Jacob Peeler's presence. Peeler recruited Abraham out of high school when Peeler was at Ole Miss and Abraham was an Oxford High star.

Abraham visited Missouri and met some of the Tigers. That helped convince Abraham to walk on to the program.

Even without a scholarship, Abraham isn't deterred in the slightest.

"It doesn't matter to me, man," Abraham said. "I know where I stand. I know what I'm capable of and I know what the situation looks like, and I'm gonna go up there and work my tail off."

Abraham will join a quarterback room that has two dual-threat types in Brady Cook and Tyler Macon. Incoming freshman Sam Horn and Abraham will be the two pro-style quarterbacks in MU's offense.

Those differences in styles are one aspect to consider. But neither of the aforementioned three brings the experience Abraham has.

It goes beyond just having the stats, games played and tenure at quarterback. Abraham talked about how he's connected with his wide receivers in the past, where he and his receivers would spend time practicing routes if they missed it even just once.

Abraham did in high school days, took it to Southern Miss and even his one year at MSU.

Across those seven years, Abraham has also matured in his lifestyle.

Last year on June 19, he married Amy. She's a speech pathologist that he spoke about with heightened joy.

Abraham's life has begun around him, but he's gotten what he wanted. Come this fall, he'll have his chance to earn the starting quarterback job at Missouri.

That's all he wanted. Missouri is giving him the chance. Abraham is taking it.

"Now that I've been able to get another opportunity to play at the highest level of college football, you can't really beat it," Abraham said, "I'm fired up and ready to get there."

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How Mizzou gave Jack Abraham 'full clarity' in his recruiting process