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It’s getting closer. We are 17 days from opening day. Next Monday’s Ten Thoughts will be the final installment before game week. So let’s get to it
1) I know I tell you all the time not to read into press conferences and the words coaches say. And as a general rule, I stand by that. That said, I’m now going to read into Eli Drinkwitz’s Saturday press conference a little bit. You can see the main things that he said HERE.
My take: Drinkwitz is very comfortable with his team. He has appeared to be quite relaxed this camp (and by relaxed, I mean that in terms relative to college football coaches in August). He isn’t making a bunch of grandiose statements or stirring the pot, but he also isn’t shying away from expectation at all. He came into the press conference Saturday and in response to my very general, got to ask something to start the press conference question, he basically told us everything that happened in Missouri’s scrimmage and apologized to us for not letting us watch it and write about it. I don’t really know what prompted that part of it, but whatever it was, I hope there’s more of it.
In a profession that guards everything like a state secret—and, yes, there’s still some of that going on at Mizzou—Drinkwitz opened up and didn’t have a problem telling us about his team. I hypothesized a couple weeks ago that Drink talked so much and said some outrageous things in his first two seasons to take the spotlight off his players. There were a lot of them that weren’t good enough and he knew it. And honestly, I think there were quite a few of them he didn’t particularly like (to be fair, I think the feeling was mutual). That’s changed. I’m a big believer that winning causes culture more than culture causes winning, but when you have both it can be a very good thing. And I think Missouri has both.
That was most evident to me in Corey Flagg talking about why he came to Missouri.
He’s not coming to a place he has to build anything. He’s not coming to a place he’s going to be a star. Honestly, he might not even be coming to a place he’s going to start. But he paid respect to the guys who have been here throughout the entire process who have made this program a place where a Power Five player with one year left to play who could have chosen a lot of places to do it wanted to do it here.
Look, this can all come apart. Every team loves each other and says all the right things before the season. We don’t really find out the truth until the bullets start flying and often not until one of them actually hits something. So, yeah, still keep in mind that there’s only so much we can read into words in August. But I really do think Drinkwitz likes his team. A lot. Even if it doesn’t reach the heights everyone wants it to, I think he’s comfortable with the guys he’s taking to the fight.
2) Here’s the main reason I think he likes it: Depth.
Competitive depth is a phrase Drink has used over and over the last two years. Even in the spring he told us he thought this team had more competitive depth than any he’d coached at Missouri. Missouri has had stars since joining the SEC. It’s had positions or even sides of the ball that were good enough to compete with basically anyone in the country. But it hasn’t had the full deck. The difference between the elite teams and everybody else isn’t just 1-22, but 23-44. Missouri hasn’t had many teams (maybe any) that could compete on that 23-44 level. And I’m not saying for sure it does this year. But I think it might. And Drink seems to think it might.
“Football is different just because of the rotational amount of players. You know, really besides quarterback and offensive line, everybody else is playing snap counts, you know, and so I feel pretty confident that we're two deep at just about every position,” he said on Saturday. “I feel really confident. You know, for us, it's about continuing to establish that competitive special teams and making sure that you know 35 through 50 are able and ready to help win in the SEC.”
Here are examples: Marcus Carroll was the 7th leading rusher in the country last year and I don’t think he’s going to start. Either Darris Smith or Zion Young is going to come off the bench. Missouri has four linebackers who have started major college football games, three in Power Five conferences. Two of them won’t start. Sidney Williams and TreVez Johnson were at Florida and Florida State. Neither is probably going to start. Jayven Richardson is a gigantic offensive lineman who’s probably Missouri’s swing tackle. The backup quarterback won games at Notre Dame. There are third-string receivers who were four-star prospects.
You need 40 guys to win at this level. At least. You’re playing 2-3 running backs, 5-7 receivers, three tight ends, 4-5 defensive tackles, 4-5 defensive ends, 4-5 corners, 3-4 linebackers and 4-6 safeties (if you include the STAR as a safety). And most teams need a backup quarterback and a couple of backup offensive linemen somewhere along the way. You don’t really know if you have all that until you’re forced to find out, but Missouri thinks it does. And I’m not sure Missouri has ever really thought that. I know it hasn’t since Drinkwitz has been here.
3) Along those lines, Marcus Bryant said something really interesting. He said Missouri’s pitch to him was basically “We need one more piece to the puzzle. Come be that piece.”
Cayden Green played left tackle all spring. Missouri was perfectly happy going that route and having a competition at left guard this summer. But then Bryant went to the portal from SMU.
“We wanted to be delicate because, you know, we felt like Cayden could also play left tackle, played it all spring,” Drinkwitz said. “But when he came in, it was like, ‘Look, I'll do whatever for the team to help us win.’ That really provided us the flexibility to go get the best player. And just hats off to his unselfishness. (That shows) what kind of teammate and player Cayden is.”
To me, it also was the number one signal that Missouri was going all in this year. I tried to get Drinkwitz to say that when I asked him about the pitch to Bryant, but he didn’t. He said “we’re always trying to win right now” and obviously that’s true. But there are times when you know the iron is hot and you need to strike when it is. Because there are just naturally going to be times it’s a little less hot. Look at the transfers Missouri brought in:
One year left: Nate Noel, Marcus Carroll, Marcus Bryant, Corey Flagg Jr.
Two years: Sterling Webb, Chris McClellan, Zion Young, Eddie Kelly, Darris Smith, Khalil Jacobs, Toriano Pride
Three years: Cayden Green, Drew Pyne (pending a waiver), Orion Phillips
Four years: Jeremiah Beasley
That’s 11 of 15 that have one or two years left to play. Which means they aren’t going somewhere to wait. Of the four that have more than those two years left, you have a full-time starter as a true freshman at a Power Four program, a quarterback who should compete for the starting job next year, a punter and a four-star recruit you nearly landed out of high school.
If that doesn’t say “We understand the opportunity and we’re doing everything we can to maximize it” I don’t know what does.
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