What will Drinkwitz’s offense look like at Mizzou? Here’s what we know from App State
When Eliah Drinkwitz strolled to the podium in December 2019 for his introductory news conference, he shouldered the hopes and dreams of tens of thousands of Missouri Tigers football fans.
The program had grown stagnant, a five-game losing streak during the 2019 season stunting its momentum. MU athletic director Jim Sterk determined a change was necessary, firing former coach Barry Odom and plucking the animated Drinkwitz from Appalachian State.
While Drinkwitz, 37, has just one year of college head-coaching experience on his resume, his credentials are impressive. The Mountaineers were 12-1 under Drinkwitz, blitzing through the Sun Belt Conference behind a top-10 scoring offense.
As the days tick down toward Missouri’s season kickoff — pending the COVID-19 pandemic, of course — all eyes are on the Tigers’ offense. Viewed as an innovative offensive guru, Drinkwitz is expected to breathe new life into a Missouri offense that all but collapsed a year ago.
“My background is a quarterback’s coach, developer and offensive coordinator, which is what has allowed me the opportunity to be here,” Drinkwitz said in December. “We’re going to lay the foundation of what the expectation of offensive football looks like.”
Drinkwitz doesn’t share specifics, most coaches don’t, but he’s given hints about what the Tigers’ attack could look like. He will call the plays himself and work closely with his quarterbacks to make sure they understand and employ his vision.
The Star spoke with four Sun Belt defensive coordinators, all of whom faced Drinkwitz in 2019 and thus had to game-plan for the potent Mountaineers. They shed light on some of Drinkwitz’s scheme and personnel and how his offense led to so many victories.
“Eli’s always done a great job everywhere he’s been offensively,” Georgia Southern defensive coordinator Scot Sloan said. “He does a great job getting the ball to his playmakers. It’s always a great sign of a (good) coach — understanding what he’s got to work with and maximizing who those guys are.”
Scheming success
While Drinkwitz molded the Appalachian State offense in his image, those opposing defensive coordinators noted some similarities to previous Mountaineers teams coached by Scott Satterfield from 2013-18. Satterfield is now Louisville’s head coach.
That resemblance manifested itself in App State’s dominant running game, Sloan said. That started with a formidable offensive line and running back Darrynton Evans, who was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. And quarterback Zac Thomas, a dual-threat type, was also dangerous on the ground.
Where the Mountaineers especially excelled, Troy defensive coordinator Brandon Hall said, was the outside zone, which they executed “as good as anyone in the country.”
Their attack called for the App State offensive line to block areas instead of man-to-man. The Mountaineers’ zone plays led to the offense being able to stretch the field toward the sidelines, Hall said.
Georgia State defensive coordinator Nate Fuqua said the outside zone’s impact was magnified when App State lined up in the pistol, with the quarterback in shotgun and the running back — usually Evans — lined up a few yards behind him. This formation allowed the running back to use his vision to either attack the sideline or cut back to the middle of the field.
“Eli’s not very complicated schematically,” said Hall, who considers Drinkwitz a personal friend from their shared experience as coaches at Arkansas State. “But he’s just an unbelievable stickler for the execution piece. He does what his guy can do best.”
Where Drinkwitz added his own refinement, Sloan said, was the “RPO,” or run-pass option, which has become popular in college football in recent years. Sloan noted that the Mountaineers didn’t run much RPO under Satterfield, but they sure did under Drinkwitz.
Coastal Carolina defensive coordinator Chad Staggs said App State also ran many RPO formations in “11” personnel, which features one running back and one tight end. The RPO allows a quarterback to make reads down the field, opening up multiple options: If the tight end running down the field is open, he can make the pass; or he can opt to run, with either himself or the running back taking the ball.
Drinkwitz has described his offense as “pro-tempo.” Defensive coordinators who’ve faced him interpret that as his offense being able to turn the pace on and off. While some offenses play at a sprint — especially in the Big 12 — Fuqua said App State varied its timing between snaps.
The Mountaineers dialed it up at specific times — notably, for instance, after a big gain. Sloan, whose Georgia Southern team dealt App State its only loss of 2019, said this approach keeps a defense on its heels, unable to substitute players as the offense runs up the field. That creates chaos and disruption for the defense, Hall said, which can lead to additional momentum for an offense that’s already coming off a big gainer.
“What people don’t understand about tempo is tempo isn’t about getting you tired,” Hall said, “It’s about forcing your guys to show what they’re in because you feel like the ball’s about to get snapped.”
The Mountaineers also dialed it up on third down, Staggs said. Coaches noticed how there would be more jet-motions and pre-snap movement to get the defense’s eyes looking at the wrong spot — “window dressing,” Hall called it.
Oftentimes, it worked. Even in some third-and-long scenarios, App State was able to move the chains to keep possessions alive. The Mountaineers were successful on 44.5% of their third-down conversions last season, which ranked 26th in the nation.
“It seemed like to me they spent time matchup-wise on third down,” Staggs said. “I could tell that being (Drinkwitz’s) flavor.”
How Missouri’s offense might look
While scheme played a big role in App State’s victories, the offense was loaded with talented players. That alone made life easier for Drinkwitz.
Thomas threw for 2,718 yards and 28 touchdowns on his way to all-conference honors. Evans ran for 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns and was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. Five members of the Mountaineers’ offensive line earned All-Sun Belt recognition (two first-teamers, two second-teamers and an honorable mention). Wide receivers Thomas Hennigan and Corey Sutton were second-team All-Sun Belt.
App State played to its strength throughout the 2019 season, with Drinkwitz forging his offense around his talented personnel. The Mountaineers used a run-heavy offense featuring Evans and Thomas.
“Not only did they do a great job schematically,” Staggs said, “they had really, really good players.”
As Drinkwitz evaluates his Mizzou roster, he’ll no doubt tweak his playbook and style based on the Tigers’ strengths — his best players.
Drinkwitz has maintained that he has no clue who his starting quarterback will be. He’s alluded to possibly employing wildcat looks with his receivers, or simplifying the offense to lean on the ground game as he did last fall. He’s noted that a proficient aerial attack relies on timing and execution. With so little practice time due to the pandemic, running more might make sense this season.
This much is certain: Drinkwitz boasts experience in crafting an offense based on what’s available to him. Thomas, his dual-threat QB at App State, played similarly to how Shawn Robinson played when the latter was the starting QB at TCU. If Robinson is named the starter at Mizzou, his legs are another tool in Drinkwitz’s offense, complementing well a pair of proven Mizzou running backs.
Drinkwitz has also worked with a pro-style quarterback. At N.C. State, where he was an assistant before leaving for App State, he worked closely with Ryan Finley, who’s now with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Wolfpack relied heavily on Finley’s arm to make their offense go.
Staggs, then coaching Furman, faced N.C. State in 2017 when Drinkwitz was the Wolfpack’s offensive coordinator. He recalled Drinkwitz’s offense being distinctly different with a pro-style quarterback taking the snaps. Fuqua made the same assessment.
Pro-style pretty much describes another leading candidate to take the reins as this season’s starting QB at Mizzou. Taylor Powell was Kelly Bryant’s backup during the 2019 season. Also in the mix is Connor Bazelak, another guy who fits the pro-style mold (though his health is in question, as he’s coming off a torn ACL).
Drinkwitz has a track record of tinkering with an offense as he sees fit. And as the Tigers get ready for camp, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
“He’s so good at getting his guys to seize every moment,” Hall said. “Whether it was South Carolina or Troy or whoever (App State) played, he made those guys execute. He wasn’t interested in the score — he was interested in the process and playing the best they can play.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM.