NCAAF teams
Greg Ostendorf, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Mizzou suspends Maty Mauk, Malik Cuellar for at least 1 game

College Football, Missouri Tigers

Maty Mauk, who has started the past 18 games for Missouri, will not be available this weekend when the Tigers host South Carolina.

The junior quarterback and offensive lineman Malik Cuellar have been suspended for violations of team rules, the Tigers' athletic department announced Tuesday night. Both players will miss Saturday's contest, and their status will be re-evaluated afterward.

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel told reporters early Wednesday that it was difficult to suspend Mauk, a leader of his team.

"Maty's going through some personal things, and that's difficult in regards to that," he said. "But what we do, and I think our players have great respect for it, is I protect the integrity of the program. We're going to be who we are, and we're going to do the right thing. We're not going to manipulate things. We have rules we abide by. Everybody lives by the same rules. And I think overall, that's helped us build our football program."

Missouri (3-1, 0-1 SEC) is coming off a 21-13 loss to Kentucky, its first loss of the season, but the struggles on offense have been well documented. Mauk is completing only 51.8 percent of his passes through the first four games and has thrown six touchdowns to four interceptions.

The coaches have given no indication as to who will start in Mauk's place Saturday, but the likely candidate is true freshman Drew Lock.

Lock, a former ESPN 300 star and Elite 11 participant, has played in all four games this season, typically getting one drive in the first half and another in the second half. The freshman has completed 15 of his 25 passes for 225 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Lock would be the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Tigers since Corby Jones in 1995, ESPN Stats & Information confirmed.

Behind Lock, sophomore Eddie Printz and redshirt freshman Marvin Zanders are listed as co-third-string quarterbacks on Missouri's depth chart.

Cuellar, a junior college transfer who enrolled in January, had been No. 2 at right tackle before recently moving over to backup left tackle Connor McGovern on the team's latest depth chart.

Missouri and South Carolina will kick off at noon ET Saturday on the SEC Network.

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