COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri football head coach Eliah Drinkwitz met with members of the media on Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference.
Mizzou welcomes Vanderbilt to Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on Saturday to begin SEC play and cap its four-game homestand to start the season. Fans are encouraged to wear gold. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network with kickoff slated for 3:15 p.m. CT. The contest can also be heard on the Tiger Radio Network from Mizzou Sports Properties and LEARFIELD through the varsity app.
Eliah Drinkwitz Missouri Football Head Coach
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
“Glad to be here on a Tuesday. I want to first start by sending my condolences to the family of Gary Kloepper, known as Texas Tiger. I met him several times when we were down in our tours in the spring. He passed away unexpectedly last weekend, and so I want to send my thoughts and prayers to his family. I also want to thank Jack Foster for saving Peter Burns’ life on Friday night. Apparently, at their Friday night meeting, Peter started choking and it got pretty serious, and Jack stepped up to the plate and gave him the Heimlich maneuver, which ultimately led to the airway passage being opened up. I know our athletic trainers had to treat him on Friday night because it was such a serious incident. So, appreciate Jack stepping up and being a hero when he was needed to be a hero.
“You know, a quick recap of the game after watching the tape and really looking into it, just want to say how impressed I was with Coach [Bill] O’Brien and his football team, Boston College Eagles. That was a really good football team, a quality football team that was fundamentally sound in all three phases. I think he’s done a tremendous job getting those guys to believe in their plan, and really impressed with the way they played and the way they stayed in the fight for all four quarters. They were certainly a worthy opponent. But for us offensively, there’s a lot of things to correct, starting with a slow start. Lack of execution in the red zone, having to kick two field goals and a punt in the first quarter – a field goal, punt, field goal. Penalties, I’ve never seen 2nd-and-59, and I hope, to never see it again. That was incredible. We did have some positives. A really good swing, 8-10 nothing right there that ultimately was the difference in the game, but our inability to put away the opponent in the third quarter, to stretch that out to a 17-point lead is something that we have to have to do better. Obviously, the execution on the last two third downs of the game was critical in order for us to win but missed opportunities throughout the game to be better. So that’s the focus for us this week.
“Defensively, slow start. You know, five plays can get you beat on defense, if 10 people do the things right, but if one messes up on five plays, you give up explosive plays that get you beat. And ultimately, we had critical busts and critical situations that we have to fix. Whether that’s coaching, whether that’s personal responsibility from players on both sides, whatever it is, it has to get taken off the tape, and it has to get taken off the tape quickly. You know, we played really well as a defensive unit for most of the game, but still gave up, ultimately, three touchdowns. And you know, we’re one drive away from suffering a defeat there.
“And then special teams, a slow start, obviously, the first return opportunity we had the ball was tackled inside the 20, which can’t happen, and then in the fourth quarter, a critical error on a shanked punt and a penalty, which ultimately resulted in only 23 yards of field position change. So those things got to get corrected. Obviously, really proud of Blake Craig and being SEC Special Teams Player of the Week with his four field goals. Thought he really did some nice things, but, for everybody, offensively, defensively, and special teams, some critical mistakes that got to get taken off the tape.
“You know, this week we start SEC play. So everything is even more critical. We have a good challenge this week. You know, Vandy, I think, has always been a very difficult out for us, except for during the COVID year. But, you know, three years ago, it was a had to win in the final drive of the two minutes. Played with a lead but had to seal that game two years ago, came down to a 4th-and-1, and they really forced a lot of turnover issues in that game against us. And then last year, were able to hit explosive plays and claw their way back into the game in the fourth quarter. So, you know, a quality opponent. I think this is Clark’s best team since he’s been there. He’s done a really nice job of utilizing the transfer portal, and still developing his players. He’s got guys that have been there for a long time, I think to De’Rickey Wright being one of them. I think that CJ Taylor, their star is or he’s playing deep safety now, but he’s one of the best defenders in our league and has consistently been that for the three years that we’ve gone against him. I know he’ll be out the first half because of the targeting penalty, but he is a really, really good player. Coach has done a really good job with his coaching hires. I think their offense is new and innovative and tough to defend. They utilize their quarterback, Diego [Pavia] in a lot of different ways, and he gives them a chance on every play to be explosive. I think the tight end Eli Stowers is obviously a critical component to their offensive success, and somebody that we have to be aware of. You know, defensively, Coach Lee’s taking it over. He’s running it. And he’s been one of the best defensive coordinators in the country when he’s done that with his work at Notre Dame and other places. So, it’s going to be a real challenge for us. And, you know, it’s really, it’s not about our opponent, it’s about us and our approach and how much better we can improve. How much more disciplined and consistent we can be in all three phases in the ownership that we take to that.”
(Ref.: on Brady Cook’s growth when the offense starts slow)
“Yeah. I thought he had one of the best plays I’ve ever seen him make on the first third down of the game when we’re running a five-man protection concept, they overload protection. He shakes it to the right and throws a back shoulder, so he didn’t start slow. You know, we had an explosive run on the very next play. It’s just once we got into the red zone, we had critical mistakes. So, you know, those things got to get corrected. And whether it was schematically or one of the 11 players not doing their job, I don’t think it was Brady.”
(Ref.: On using the two-minute stoppage and how it impacts the way he can manage the clock)
“It’s very significant. It’s very significant in how you can utilize timeouts and kind of manipulate the clock. You saw it last night in the NFL, you can manipulate people into having to, you know, run certain plays or certain schemes. You know, for them, we called time out before the third down to force them into a decision, they ultimately decided to throw the ball, which allowed us to save our time outs, which ultimately, you know, gave us the ability to kick a 50 something yard field goal. So, it puts coaches in a really difficult decision, and players in a decision to execute, and if they don’t, they leave time on the clock and that’s what happened. There’s a lot of analytics to it that you have to study, and you have to be in real-time to be able to make those decisions on what you want to do.”
(Ref.: On containing the running against Boston College and how you can carry that into this week)
“Yeah, I think all three games have actually been good preparation for this opener in the SEC. Diego’s a different style runner than [Thomas] Castellanos. He’s more physical downhill. Kind of has the old ‘okey doke’ on his option stuff. Will lower his shoulder and take on defenders, so it’s different, but then there’s some schematic things that are similar. You know, I think there was one of the first couple plays of the game they ran a triple option scheme that shows up this week in the exact same formation. So, I think there’s some of that stuff that will carry. I don’t think that our approach to pass rush will have to be the same. You know, we do have to contain him, but ultimately, we look back at the plan, maybe there’s some more opportunities for us to try to create pressure.”
(Ref.: On the work that Blake Craig has been putting in)
“Yeah. I mean, he’s put in a lot of work. He’s always been a really confident kid. He’s always been confident in himself, and I think the players and coaches demonstrate confidence in him too. Like the question last week, were we concerned about him because he missed a couple of longer field goals. And the answer was no. We knew he would be able to make it when we needed. And I think that confidence, I mean, that was as well struck 57-yard field goal that I’ve seen. I mean, that thing went through the top of the upright. So, he’s got confidence, he’s got plenty of leg, and his team believes in him, and that was a really big momentum swing for us. You could just tell the energy in the locker room was different, because we were able to fight all the way back from a really poor first quarter to actually have control of the game going into halftime. So, I think Blake really did his job.
(Ref.: On the recruiting process with Blake Craig and what made him stand out?)
“Yeah, I actually went and watched him live. Again, his confidence, his ability to make it. He came here and worked out during our kicking camp and won competitions, and so ultimately, that was, you know, it’s not just about the talent, it’s about the mentality. Blake’s one of our most consistent performers in the weight room. You know, even when he was working out with the edge squad. He always was a guy that Coach [Ryan] Russell singled out and said was a leader and a good performer and had the right stuff about him, which is what you want out of that position.”
(Ref.: On the similarities between Blake Craig and Harrison Mevis)
“Similarities? It was the same hash that Mevis kicked the 62 yarder. And I was thinking that in my mind, like, ‘man, that’s pretty ironic’. These two guys kick it from the same hash. I think competitive spirit. Obviously, I don’t think the moment gets too big for them. I think both of them kind of relish the opportunity for them to compete and bring value to the team. I think they’re different personalities, Blake’s a little bit larger personality than maybe Harrison.”
(Ref.: On Jamal Roberts’ role as the third down back)
“Yeah, he has the best understanding and grasp of protection with also the size that you need. He’s got good hands out of the backfield. He’s consistent, physical as a blocker. Obviously, you know somebody that we can throw the ball to or hand the ball to in those situations that we trust, and it takes a little bit off of Marcus [Carroll] and Nate [Noel]’s plate from a physicality standpoint. Especially with teams who we know are going to blitz. We knew that Boston College was going to blitz and then add green dogs on top of it, so we knew we needed a back in there who could hold up physically and try not to add extra contact to Nate.”
(Ref.: On Brady Cook’s quicker release in the passing game)
“Some of it is by design, some of it is by play concept. Some of it we’ve emphasized more quick game this year than we probably did last year. Some of it is just a better understanding of reading of defenses. So, he knows he’s processing the play faster and knows where his answers are faster. I think both throws to Mookie [Cooper] came out really quick, just to protect him from, you know, the defensive danger, whether it be a corner falling off or the flat defender getting depth. And those things just happen based on experience and processing.”
(Ref.: On the different defensive looks used vs. Boston College)
“Yeah, that was a game plan decision based on 12 personnel. It was a heavy run personnel for them, and we felt like the most important thing for us was to control the A and B gaps and really not allow their center to be free to climb up to the second level. Put the center and guard more in one-on-one blocks, so we went to a rhino package. We hadn’t shown that. We had hoped that it would create some confusion or an adjustment to their game plan. Also, in some of the zone read stuff, it allows your ends to be more contained players so the ball doesn’t get out on the edge, where in four down stuff your ends typically need to be your chase player, so the quarterback then has the freedom to pull it. So that was more of a schematic situation.
“You know, each week it’s, it’s depending on what we feel like we need to do in order to win the game. So, I don’t know if that’ll be, you know, in the plan this week. You can create some of that same kind of stuff with the multiple fronts. We played some drop eight into a three-down front. That’s really the same style of scheme, but it’s predicated more based on 11 or 10 pictures. So, it just depends on if we feel like we need to do that. I thought Marquis [Gracial] really did a nice job coming in and playing the nose, which is what he primarily did in the game, as far as the pass rush, that was a design technique that we had. We really felt like if we could keep Thomas [Castellanos] in the pocket and utilize our zone coverage, we felt like we could force him into a couple of mistakes, which ultimately we did. But you know, I thought he did a really nice job picking us apart too. You know, we certainly have to be better in zone coverage moving forward.”
(Ref.: On how important Kristian Williams has been in bringing on the new guys)
“Yeah, I think for him, it’s just about – he has a standard on how he operates and what he wants our defense to look like, and I think that’s been the most impressive thing about our defense. Whether it’s Chuck [Hicks] or Joe [Moore] or Kristian or Johnny [Walker Jr.] you know, or even Dreyden Norwood, they know and uphold the standard, and they expect everybody else to play to that standard. They’re not willing to lower it for anybody. And so I think when you have transfers come in, you know, we’re really not adapting to you, you’re joining us and this is how we do it here. And I think those guys have really done a nice job of this is how we do it here, and what happens is, you see players perform at that standard. I think Zion Young has been playing at a really high level. You know the stats don’t always reflect it, but you know, the 3rd-and-10 before half, he’s the one that tips the ball that, I mean, they’re throwing to a wide open wide receiver because we had another coverage bust, but he makes the play there. Corey Flagg Jr. has joined us and is playing at an elite level. Khalil Jacobs had the, you know, couple of TFLs or sacks, depending on what we call them. So those guys have joined our standard.”
(Ref.: On Chuck Hicks’ journey and strong leadership)
“I think Chuck’s exactly what we talked about when we talk about being emotionally consistent. He’s the same guy every day. Doesn’t get too high, too low. He’s going to give you the very best that he has. He’s going to prepare every week. He’s going to play really well. He had a really big play in the first of the game, tipping the ball, it was almost intercepted. He’s a consistent tackler. He’s a downhill player. He’s a guy who reinvented himself, transferred out of Wyoming, came here, bet on himself, didn’t know if he was, you know, we needed a linebacker at the time, and ultimately, he didn’t know if he was, you know, where he would fit in. But he’s stuck around, he’s faced a lot of different injuries in his career, and he just continues to show up every day and go to work. Obviously elected captain, so he has the respect of his teammates, and he’s consistent.”
(Ref.: On the miscues in the run game)
“I think at least five of those runs came in the four-minute situation at the end of the game. So, you know, advertised runs, everybody knows they’re coming in and we’re in a different situation. So, you know, maybe that has to do with the stats. I don’t think that we had any real schematic issues or not sustained issues. I know that there was a counter that we didn’t really like in the fourth quarter, but I can’t recall anything that I’m like, ‘man, we just aren’t doing our jobs to be honest’. We did have on the 3rd-and-4, you know, we had an execution error. 3rd-and-4 we had an execution error. 1st-and-10, we had an execution error in run play. So that’s two of them. And then the other two that were below average, which would have been around the three were in the 2nd-and, 1st-and-10 counter, stunk. We had 2nd-and-10, outside zone, stunk. Then we threw the ball to Luther [Burden III], then we came back and had a seven yard or a six yard run, two yard run, and then got out the game. So obviously, our counter scheme wasn’t good, poor execution, and I thought our guys fought through it. The time of possession was good for us, but man, I thought our offensive line maybe got a little bit tired there, so maybe work on making sure we’re in the shape we need. It’s going to show up Saturday. It’s gonna be a hot game Saturday. We’re gonna have to have our best performance from a nutrition standpoint.”
(Ref.: On the front pressure forced by Boston College)
“Yeah, we had some issues on third down protections, just based off of what our scheme was, and then what they did, they were bringing some overload zone pressures that we hadn’t seen before, and it took us, really, until the second half to get it cleaned up. You know, I think the sack is a combination of eyes by the quarterback, short set by the tackle, and inability by the tailback to recognize that he’s getting beat and chip his way out. So that’s really on all three. And then I think, you know, we had the second third down of the game. That was the punt. You know, we had leakage on the inside. It was a five call. Guard got matched up, was too high, end up getting leakage hits the quarterback at his feet right when he’s making a throw to the field, so it’s always going to be a tough issue. So, we got to firm up the middle of the pocket. You know, when we have confusion about what we’re doing in protection, we got to still be solid. We can’t retreat from the line of scrimmage, and I think we were retreating a little bit too much, which was putting pressure in the quarterback’s lap.”
(Ref.: On his team facing adversity and limiting mistakes moving forward)
“Yeah, I think that’s the biggest thing we can build off from the game is our team faced adversity. We didn’t have the best start that we needed to in any of the three phases, but we still found a way to compete. Didn’t turn on each other, found a way to compete and win, and really, I didn’t think we played our best ball in the fourth quarter, either. But you know, offensively, when the game was on the line, we executed on critical downs in order to win. So those are building blocks that says you have it in you. Now it’s just about being more consistent. So, I think that’s the biggest key. And believe me, yesterday, I challenged our staff and our players, put your feelings in a box, like, don’t come into this team room thinking we’re going to celebrate, and party based off the film, because that’s not going to be it. We’re going to challenge each other in here, because a lack of discipline is a result of the lack of accountability, and there’s going to be accountability. I mean, no different than they caught me on tape getting on Luther [Burden III] between the third and fourth quarter. He deserved every bit of that, and he understood it. I mean, he looked me right in the eye and said, ‘yes sir’. Just like yesterday when we addressed it, he understood selfish penalties cannot happen. The team’s mission is way more important than anybody’s individual hurt feelings, so put your feelings in a box, put your big boy pants on and take accountability for the things that we have to improve on.”
(Ref.: On Nate Noel’s development)
“Yeah, Nate’s obviously a uniquely talented player. You know always the biggest concern when you recruit somebody from a different division, or group of five, Division II, whatever it is, is how are they going to adjust to the speed of the game. So, we watched the North Carolina game. We watched the Texas A&M game, and the explosiveness that he shows on film, his ability to read the outside zone, his ball skills out of the backfield were all exactly what we wanted it to be on tape. And then I think when he got here, his desire to be a positive contribution to the team. He’s done a really good job down there with Coach [Ryan] Russell and Coach Liz [Stuart] and Zach [Parker] in taking care of his body. You know, each year at App State, he was always a little bit beat up. Wasn’t as durable as he would like to be. Really worked on his durability, his nutritional habits and his practice habits.”
(Ref.: On preparing for Vanderbilt’s different formations)
“Yeah, they utilize a lot of unbalanced formations and the easiest way to create unbalanced formations is to use 12 personnel. But traditionally, when the ball is going to get thrown, he’s looking for number nine. So, we have to understand that, you know, if we have him in man or he’s in our zone, we need to cover him because the quarterback’s looking for him. You know, multi-use tight ends is an important part of any offense, if that’s what you believe in, especially more for them, because you can try to dictate the fronts that you want in order to run the ball the way you want to with what they’re doing.”
GET YOUR 2024 TICKETS NOW!
A limited number of reserved single-game tickets remain available for the game against Arkansas. Reserved season tickets have sold out as well as single-game reserved tickets for games against Vanderbilt, Auburn and Oklahoma.
Purchase single-game tickets now by calling 1-800-CAT-PAWS or buying online.
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest information on Mizzou Athletics, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram and Facebook.
