Amid pandemic, Drinkwitz focused on Mizzou football, not talk of delay or cancellation
Missouri Tigers football coach Eliah Drinkwitz is holding steady, taking one day at a time.
After embarking on spring practices in early March, Drinkwitz and the Tigers were halted along with the rest of the sports world by the growing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. A day after canceling its basketball tournaments, the SEC shut down all organized spring football activities.
The decision came hours before Mizzou was to take the field for its fourth practice of spring ball on March 13.
Drinkwitz, MU’s first-year head coach, faces a big challenge as he tries to build his inaugural program in Columbia. Instead of learning about and more deeply evaluating his players, Drinkwitz, who was hired from Appalachian State after Mizzou fired Barry Odom, must base his assessments on the three spring practices held before things were put on hold.
“We still don’t know the strengths and weaknesses of our individual players relative to the scheme we’re going to try to utilize,” Drinkwitz said on a Zoom call Wednesday. “That’s put us behind the 8-ball. Anytime you’re trying to instill your culture and what you’re trying to do and build that trust and respect, you can only really do that through time, and time spent together.”
While Drinkwitz and fellow first-year SEC coaches at Arkansas, Mississippi State and Ole Miss are playing some comparative catchup to peers around the conference, Drinkwitz isn’t making excuses.
He noted that college football is always in a state of “flux,” and said that even if a school didn’t go through a head-coaching change this offseason, some hired new coordinators. Drinkwitz said those teams are in a similar position as the Tigers.
When asked whether he thinks there will be a football season this fall, Drinkwitz said it’s too early to tell. Mizzou’s season is scheduled to kick off Sept. 5 against Central Arkansas.
While ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said last week that he’d be “shocked” if a football season was played this fall, Drinkwitz said he’s not going to try to predict the future.
“No offense to Mr. (Kirk) Herbstreit,” Drinkwitz said. “But deciding who’s going to win a football game on College GameDay is a lot different than getting the world in a panic about whether or not we’re going to play a college football season.”
The SEC on Monday started allowing schools to schedule two hours of remote film-session training each week. The Tigers held a team meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday; they planned to break into position-specific meetings in order to maximize what they can accomplish during that time.
With only so much communication available between coaches and players, Drinkwitz said his staff has challenged each position group to find a leader and hold themselves accountable. Drinkwitz said he wants them to create better relationships and chemistry.
Drinkwitz also made it clear that he and his staff know exactly where each of his players are and check in with them daily. He said there are usually 15-20 players in Columbia depending on the day. Players aren’t allowed to use team facilities unless they’re going through rehab, like quarterback Connor Bazelak in his return from ACL surgery.
When it comes to staying in peak physical shape, Drinkwitz said his staff sent suggested workouts to MU’s players. They’re tailored to what each player has at home because gyms are closed. Drinkwitz can’t specifically ask if his players have gone through such workouts because of NCAA rules, so it falls on them to keep in shape during the lull.
“We’re trusting these guys are self-driven men who want to be successful at this game,” Drinkwitz said. “The reason they’re playing at a high level is because they’re good at it and they love it. Hopefully they’re doing that (working out).”
In the meantime, Drinkwitz stays active in recruiting. The NCAA mandated a temporary dead period through April 15, prohibiting both on- and off-campus recruiting, but teams are still allowed to contact recruits.
While Drinkwitz navigates this new normal, he said football and sports in general are secondary. The coach said he has multiple family members working in the health industry and knows unity during an unprecedented crisis comes first.
“It’s so much bigger than football right now,” Drinkwitz said. “It’s bigger than the game that’s going to be played. We want to play because it’s going to provide hope that we’re on the other side of this. But right now, that’s not the biggest thing on our minds.”