‘It’s not hard to sell Mizzou:’ Drinkwitz puts finishing touches on Class of 2020
As Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz and his staff heavily recruited three-star cornerback Ennis Rakestraw, there was some indication the Duncanville, Texas native was headed to Columbia.
But on Wednesday, National Signing Day, there was silence from Rakestraw’s camp, casting some uncertainty. The last Drinkwitz heard from anyone was around 8:30 Tuesday night. Both SEC powerhouse Alabama and hometown Texas were recruiting Rakestraw, hosting him for official visits in the past month.
So when Rakestraw committed and signed his Letter of Intent to join Mizzou on Wednesday, Drinkwitz exploded with excitement. The moment was caught on camera as Drinkwitz puts the finishing touches on his first MU recruiting class.
“Either I was a heck of an actor or totally shocked,” Drinkwitz said. “I was excited for everybody, they just happened to film that.”
Drinkwitz and his staff rounded out the Class of 2020 on the first day of the regular signing period. The Tigers signed 10 players in the early signing period and added seven more as of 4:35 p.m. Wednesday. The last pledge expected to sign is Chance Luper, a three-star wide receiver and son of running backs coach Curtis Luper.
For Drinkwitz and his staff, he stressed again on Wednesday the significance of the state of Missouri. As part of his regional recruiting style, Drinkwitz said he and his 10 assistants are assigned an area of Missouri to recruit. It’s his commitment to recruit St. Louis, Kansas City and other areas of the state.
“It’s not hard to sell Mizzou,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s only one Mizzou. We have a lot of strengths in this state. We have the SEC, the south end zone project, the growth mindset.”
For Mizzou, Rakestraw was a major get. Drinkwitz said it was a combination of Ryan Walters, David Gibbs and Charlie Harbison who created a “relationship” with Rakestraw.
There was also some extra significance of landing Rakestraw: He’s from the Dallas area. That’s an expertise of Curtis Luper, who previously coached at TCU and has built relationships there.
“Coach Luper does an outstanding job of coaching but is a dynamic recruiter in Dallas in the past,” Drinkwitz said. “The Dallas metro area has been a huge part of Mizzou’s success, especially under coach (Gary) Pinkel. I want to tap into that again.”
Among the newcomers is also an established college player in wide receiver Damon Hazelton. The graduate transfer from Virginia Tech was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection last year, bringing maturity and competition the wide receiver room, Drinkwitz said.
While there were some questions about Hazelton’s immediate eligibility because he already transferred in his career, Drinkwitz said he wasn’t concerned about it. He said that’s a compliance question as Hazelton has one year of college football left.
“That for us is a big get,” Drinkwitz said of Hazelton. He’s a grad transfer, but a guy who’s got production in Power Five level games. He’s been a featured wide receiver. … We know he can beat man-to-man coverage. Got great size, catch ability, catch radius.”
Moving forward, Drinkwitz said Missouri has “roster flexibility” if any talented players become available through the transfer portal or other means. But there isn’t any area or position they’re looking for as he has yet to fully evaluate the roster.
That’ll come after spring football with practices starting March 7. Attrition through transfers and other means is also expected through the spring football period, especially after a coaching change where players see new schemes and varying potential playing time. That’s another avenue where scholarships become available.
“See where we have strengths, weaknesses,” Drinkwitz said. “We do have roster flexibility but I’m not committing one or the other yet. I’m not going to make any adjustments yet until I see it with my own eyes and my own ears.”
But that also means having “discipline” in terms of roster spots, Drinkwitz said. Mizzou is held to 81 scholarships because of limitations after the NCAA denied the school’s infractions appeal. While there are available players, Drinkwitz said he’s searching for the right fit.
After Drinkwitz and his assistants spent the past month heavily recruiting, they now turn toward the future after wrapping up the Class of 2020.
“It’s just beginning for us,” Drinkwitz said. “Mizzou is just beginning. We’re excited about our future here and moving forward.”
Taking to Twitter
Compared to his predecessor in former coach Barry Odom, Drinkwitz is active on the social media front, especially Twitter.
Mizzou has branded #NewZou for any incoming recruits. Whenever a recruit plans to announce his commitment, Drinkwitz is right there tweeting a video graphic to signify a new Tigers player. Though he doesn’t mention them by name because that’s an NCAA violation.
“I don’t write anything without my wife proofreading it because I don’t have great English ability or punctuation and everything,” Drinkwitz said. “I just try to be who I am and try to be spontaneous.”
Hail to the Chiefs
Drinkwitz opened his news conference on Wednesday by congratulating the Kansas City Chiefs on their Super Bowl win. The Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Miami last Sunday.
“Excited to celebrate with them on the Super Bowl,” Drinkwitz said. “That was a great win.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 4:55 PM.