Most of what Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said has been consistent with what he’s said throughout camp or the offseason. The team is turning away from fall camp and beginning the process of prep for Murray State.
Here are a couple of things that Drinkwitz said that were notable.
This was the hardest fall camp he’s ever had. When I say hard, I mean in the sense that he worked these players. There was a lot more going on to get this team ready.
This team knows what the expectations are and what their standard is. They’re no longer a team coming out of nowhere. People see them. They’re not No. 11 in AP and USA Today preseason polls for nothing.
The team’s three goals heading into camp were for camp to be hard, for everyone to establish and embrace their roles on this team and to develop a mindset. Drinkwitz thinks they’ve done that.
“We had more live reps this year than we’ve had in any fall camp,” Drinkwitz said. “We've had more periods in our 17 practices than we’ve had in the previous fall camp. We had more reps this year than we had in the previous fall camps. That's a tangible demonstration. It was harder than it's ever been.”
Defensive tackle Kristian Williams, one of five team captains for the year, agreed this was the hardest camp but something good will come out of it.
“It was a big difference as far as the rep counts and you got more team periods, more practice with pads and stuff,” Williams said. “It's been a big difference on that end. I've been in college for a while now, so of course, I’ve got a different perspective on it. But if anything, I feel like that plays a big role into the season. Going deeper into the season, it's a longer season at that. So, I feel like it'll translate properly.”
The second thing that was notable during Drinkwitz’s presser was the last thing he talked about which was fan support.
Drinkwitz said he sees a lot more fan interest throughout the state but that the program doesn’t have the fan base it thinks it has if it doesn’t sell out the season opener versus Murray State.
“You definitely get a sense that the community and the state as a whole are very excited about Mizzou football,” Drinkwitz said. “That's been awesome, whether it's been this summer around the state or dropping my kids off at school today and a sixth grader saying he’s really excited about football season. That stuff just wasn't the same or it hasn't been like that going into it.
“Our challenge is we need to sell out this first game. We're a Top 11 program in the country coming off a Cotton Bowl win, and in my opinion, if we don't sell off the first game, then that shows me that we're not where we want to be as a fan base yet.”
Drinkwitz harped on the fan base showing up for every game, not just the game versus Oklahoma in November or versus other SEC opponents.
He wants the fan base to help show that this is a serious team, especially with the possibility that this team could be hosting a College Football Playoff game in December.
“Don't sit on the sideline and wait, “Well, it's got to be this game.’ No, come watch this team and be excited about this team and embrace this team,” Drinkwitz said. “The same challenge that I have for our players is, let's have a 1-0 mindset, but let's try to be a 1-0 team and be a 1-0 fan base. Don't, get excited about the game in November after the bye week. I don't know what that game's going to look like.”
Missouri hosts Murray State in nine days on Aug. 29.
Here are a couple of things that Drinkwitz said that were notable.
This was the hardest fall camp he’s ever had. When I say hard, I mean in the sense that he worked these players. There was a lot more going on to get this team ready.
This team knows what the expectations are and what their standard is. They’re no longer a team coming out of nowhere. People see them. They’re not No. 11 in AP and USA Today preseason polls for nothing.
The team’s three goals heading into camp were for camp to be hard, for everyone to establish and embrace their roles on this team and to develop a mindset. Drinkwitz thinks they’ve done that.
“We had more live reps this year than we’ve had in any fall camp,” Drinkwitz said. “We've had more periods in our 17 practices than we’ve had in the previous fall camp. We had more reps this year than we had in the previous fall camps. That's a tangible demonstration. It was harder than it's ever been.”
Defensive tackle Kristian Williams, one of five team captains for the year, agreed this was the hardest camp but something good will come out of it.
“It was a big difference as far as the rep counts and you got more team periods, more practice with pads and stuff,” Williams said. “It's been a big difference on that end. I've been in college for a while now, so of course, I’ve got a different perspective on it. But if anything, I feel like that plays a big role into the season. Going deeper into the season, it's a longer season at that. So, I feel like it'll translate properly.”
The second thing that was notable during Drinkwitz’s presser was the last thing he talked about which was fan support.
Drinkwitz said he sees a lot more fan interest throughout the state but that the program doesn’t have the fan base it thinks it has if it doesn’t sell out the season opener versus Murray State.
“You definitely get a sense that the community and the state as a whole are very excited about Mizzou football,” Drinkwitz said. “That's been awesome, whether it's been this summer around the state or dropping my kids off at school today and a sixth grader saying he’s really excited about football season. That stuff just wasn't the same or it hasn't been like that going into it.
“Our challenge is we need to sell out this first game. We're a Top 11 program in the country coming off a Cotton Bowl win, and in my opinion, if we don't sell off the first game, then that shows me that we're not where we want to be as a fan base yet.”
Drinkwitz harped on the fan base showing up for every game, not just the game versus Oklahoma in November or versus other SEC opponents.
He wants the fan base to help show that this is a serious team, especially with the possibility that this team could be hosting a College Football Playoff game in December.
“Don't sit on the sideline and wait, “Well, it's got to be this game.’ No, come watch this team and be excited about this team and embrace this team,” Drinkwitz said. “The same challenge that I have for our players is, let's have a 1-0 mindset, but let's try to be a 1-0 team and be a 1-0 fan base. Don't, get excited about the game in November after the bye week. I don't know what that game's going to look like.”
Missouri hosts Murray State in nine days on Aug. 29.
