Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz addressed the media Saturday following the team's fifth practice. So here are some takeaways with some explanation as to what Drinkwitz meant for some of his comments.
On Drew Pyne's performance so far:
"I've been very impressed and pleased with Drew. He's clearly the No. 2 quarterback, there's no more competition," Drinkwitz said. "He's been really good. A great teammate, a great understanding of the offense, gets reps, understands when he screws it up and knows what he should have done. He's accurate with the ball. A battlefield commander as far as making sure the troops are lined up and knows where they're supposed to be. He's really been everything we had hoped. So yeah, it's been really good. It's awesome to have that consistency there. The challenge for us is making sure we get him enough reps when we rotate him in, which we will for sure."
Context: Drew Pyne was the No. 2 quarterback when it was announced he was coming to Missouri. So, Drinkwitz declaring the QB2 competition to be over speaks more about how impressed he is about who he has for the position battle next year than it does that Pyne has won the QB2 job. This is Brady Cook's team this year. But it's also his final year of eligibility. What Pyne has done has solidified his spot as someone who can not only fill in for Cook in a pinch but be a viable contender to win the QB1 competition next year.
Also, this is my third season covering the team. I've never seen Drinkwitz this happy about a backup quarterback before. It all comes back to winning. When you're a College Football Playoff contender you have starting quality players as the backups.
What this means for Sam Horn is to be determined. He will probably miss spring ball next year, too. So he hasn't had a healthy spring camp his entire career and now a polished quarterback, who is doing just about everything right is here. That's something to keep in mind in the spring.
Phillip Roche's arrest and discipline:
"It's an unfortunate situation for the young man. Obviously, he didn't live up to the standard that we set within the program," Drinkwitz said. "But we have a way that we handle things internally and there'll be internal discipline and when it comes to any type of situation that would rise above that I'll be sure to let you know. There is no internal or external suspension. He is being disciplined within the program and we look forward to him making better decisions in the future. And everybody on our team now, obviously, it was something that, you know, has shed light on something, a situation that all of us have to be aware of and be cognizant of how we represent the University of Missouri."
Context: Earlier this week, sophomore safety Phillip Roche was arrested in Columbia for failure to appear in court. He has been charged with three misdemeanors for allegedly going 107 miles per hour (the speed limit is 60) on I-70 and 115 mph along U.S. 63 (the speed limit is 70).
So, Roche won't be suspended, which isn't a surprise. Starting LB and team captain Chad Bailey got a DWI over Cinco De Mayo weekend in May 2023 and didn't get suspended.
It's unclear what internal punishment Roche faces, but it won't make him unavailable for the Aug. 29 season opener versus Murray State.
Drinkwitz's thoughts on the first week of fall camp practice:
"We're five practices in. A lot of sloppy football, which is typical as you work your way through fall camp, you're never as far along as you'd like to be," Drinkwitz said. "But I think the players had really good attitudes. I think they've tried to be very coachable. I think they've been very attentive to the details that the coaches have asked them. They've responded every time we've challenged them. So, I've been pleased in those regards. Obviously, the execution is lacking. There's still a lot of open competition. I've been impressed with the way players have come in and attacked the competition. But five practices in, today we had some really good -- good-on-good situations. And I know everybody's looking forward to the last scrimmage on Monday where we'll know a little bit more about where we're at."
Context: The sloppy play isn't shocking. Most of the summer work players do is their own individual training and working out with the strength and conditioning staff. The players haven't been around their coaches for a while. So the sloppy play, as Drinkwitz said, isn't really that surprising.
It's good that the team embraces the competition and that there is worthy competition at some spots. For example, it's good that Pyne has looked strong since he came in. Even though there's no true quarterback competition, Cook can't slack off.
Pyne seems like the perfect example of why Drinkwitz says every starting spot on the roster is open because even if it isn't, the starters can't afford to be lackadaisical.
Some players Drinkwitz mentioned as having great camps were DTs Kristian Williams and Chris McClellan, EDGEs Johnny Walker, Zion Young and Darris Smith and LG Cayden Green.
DT Sterling Webb and Marquis Gracial were mentioned as other players having a solid camp.
If I had to guess this is what the depth chart looks like for those positions it would probably be:
DT: Kristian Williams (1), Chris McClellan (2), Sterling Webb (3) and Marquis Gracial (4), who is battling Jalen Marshall for the DT4 spot.
DE: Johnny Walker (1), Zion Young (2), Darris Smith (3),
Eddie Kelly, Joe Moore and Jahkai Lang have all seemingly flashed but they're all behind Walker, Young and Smith. The DE4 spot is vacant and these are the options to fill that spot.
The team has practice No. 6 tomorrow morning and I'll have more stuff from this presser and about the team coming soon.
On Drew Pyne's performance so far:
"I've been very impressed and pleased with Drew. He's clearly the No. 2 quarterback, there's no more competition," Drinkwitz said. "He's been really good. A great teammate, a great understanding of the offense, gets reps, understands when he screws it up and knows what he should have done. He's accurate with the ball. A battlefield commander as far as making sure the troops are lined up and knows where they're supposed to be. He's really been everything we had hoped. So yeah, it's been really good. It's awesome to have that consistency there. The challenge for us is making sure we get him enough reps when we rotate him in, which we will for sure."
Context: Drew Pyne was the No. 2 quarterback when it was announced he was coming to Missouri. So, Drinkwitz declaring the QB2 competition to be over speaks more about how impressed he is about who he has for the position battle next year than it does that Pyne has won the QB2 job. This is Brady Cook's team this year. But it's also his final year of eligibility. What Pyne has done has solidified his spot as someone who can not only fill in for Cook in a pinch but be a viable contender to win the QB1 competition next year.
Also, this is my third season covering the team. I've never seen Drinkwitz this happy about a backup quarterback before. It all comes back to winning. When you're a College Football Playoff contender you have starting quality players as the backups.
What this means for Sam Horn is to be determined. He will probably miss spring ball next year, too. So he hasn't had a healthy spring camp his entire career and now a polished quarterback, who is doing just about everything right is here. That's something to keep in mind in the spring.
Phillip Roche's arrest and discipline:
"It's an unfortunate situation for the young man. Obviously, he didn't live up to the standard that we set within the program," Drinkwitz said. "But we have a way that we handle things internally and there'll be internal discipline and when it comes to any type of situation that would rise above that I'll be sure to let you know. There is no internal or external suspension. He is being disciplined within the program and we look forward to him making better decisions in the future. And everybody on our team now, obviously, it was something that, you know, has shed light on something, a situation that all of us have to be aware of and be cognizant of how we represent the University of Missouri."
Context: Earlier this week, sophomore safety Phillip Roche was arrested in Columbia for failure to appear in court. He has been charged with three misdemeanors for allegedly going 107 miles per hour (the speed limit is 60) on I-70 and 115 mph along U.S. 63 (the speed limit is 70).
So, Roche won't be suspended, which isn't a surprise. Starting LB and team captain Chad Bailey got a DWI over Cinco De Mayo weekend in May 2023 and didn't get suspended.
It's unclear what internal punishment Roche faces, but it won't make him unavailable for the Aug. 29 season opener versus Murray State.
Drinkwitz's thoughts on the first week of fall camp practice:
"We're five practices in. A lot of sloppy football, which is typical as you work your way through fall camp, you're never as far along as you'd like to be," Drinkwitz said. "But I think the players had really good attitudes. I think they've tried to be very coachable. I think they've been very attentive to the details that the coaches have asked them. They've responded every time we've challenged them. So, I've been pleased in those regards. Obviously, the execution is lacking. There's still a lot of open competition. I've been impressed with the way players have come in and attacked the competition. But five practices in, today we had some really good -- good-on-good situations. And I know everybody's looking forward to the last scrimmage on Monday where we'll know a little bit more about where we're at."
Context: The sloppy play isn't shocking. Most of the summer work players do is their own individual training and working out with the strength and conditioning staff. The players haven't been around their coaches for a while. So the sloppy play, as Drinkwitz said, isn't really that surprising.
It's good that the team embraces the competition and that there is worthy competition at some spots. For example, it's good that Pyne has looked strong since he came in. Even though there's no true quarterback competition, Cook can't slack off.
Pyne seems like the perfect example of why Drinkwitz says every starting spot on the roster is open because even if it isn't, the starters can't afford to be lackadaisical.
Some players Drinkwitz mentioned as having great camps were DTs Kristian Williams and Chris McClellan, EDGEs Johnny Walker, Zion Young and Darris Smith and LG Cayden Green.
DT Sterling Webb and Marquis Gracial were mentioned as other players having a solid camp.
If I had to guess this is what the depth chart looks like for those positions it would probably be:
DT: Kristian Williams (1), Chris McClellan (2), Sterling Webb (3) and Marquis Gracial (4), who is battling Jalen Marshall for the DT4 spot.
DE: Johnny Walker (1), Zion Young (2), Darris Smith (3),
Eddie Kelly, Joe Moore and Jahkai Lang have all seemingly flashed but they're all behind Walker, Young and Smith. The DE4 spot is vacant and these are the options to fill that spot.
The team has practice No. 6 tomorrow morning and I'll have more stuff from this presser and about the team coming soon.
