Despite college football’s uncertainty, Mizzou marches on with training camp prep
While questions swirl around college football’s season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz’s Tigers started their training camp preparations Tuesday as their next step toward a 2020 season.
Of course, MU doesn’t formally open preseason camp until Aug. 17, per Southeastern Conference rules. But as part of a modified practice schedule, Drinkwitz said the Tigers are preparing as if they’re already in camp — even if college football’s landscape changes by the hour.
Tuesday and Wednesday revolve around workouts and meetings for the Tigers. Thursday is an off day, focused on meetings and player development. Friday and Saturday will be back to workouts, meetings and walkthroughs. Sunday is the Tigers’ final day off before preseason camp and practices begin.
It’s all in preparation for a Sept. 26 kickoff, one overshadowed by the pandemic and other conferences altering their seasons.
“We’ve utilized every bit of time that they’ve allowed us to have,” Drinkwitz told The Star in a phone call Monday. “We’re excited to try to develop our identity and the Mizzou Tigers of 2020. What that’s going to look like, we’re developing that on a daily basis.”
The Big Ten and Pac-12 announced Tuesday they are postponing the season with hopes to play football in the spring, becoming the first Power Five conferences to do so. The Mid-American Conference and Mountain West Conference announced similar plans.
The SEC continues to take a wait-and-see approach on its upcoming football season.
“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions (Tuesday),” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes.
“We will continue to refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.”
The Tigers have continued practices in the meantime. Drinkwitz has said multiple times in the past few months they will prep for the season until they’re told not to. And if MU athletes are part of the #WeWantToPlay initiative or choose to opt out because of the novel coronavirus, Drinkwitz said he will have his players’ backs.
Mizzou held “mini-camp” over the past few weeks, Drinkwitz said, going through 12 walkthroughs that were primarily focused on base installs and walking through formations.
Before the Tigers transition to full-speed practices, the SEC requires a ramp-up period: two days in helmets only, two days in shells and the fifth day in full pads. While Drinkwitz said the reps have been beneficial, the Tigers are still evaluating their roster — especially at quarterback.
“The position battles are kind of like the season,” Drinkwitz said. “Every day is a new day and a new challenge. You can control what you can control. We still haven’t put pads on yet — the game is played with pads. Toughness matters. That’s all going to be factored into it. We’ll know more information next week this time.”
While the sport balances uncertainty amid a pandemic, if there is an SEC season, there is one certainty: Mizzou will play Alabama and reigning College Football Playoff champ LSU. The SEC announced its altered 2020 schedule last week — and Drinkwitz said the Tigers will be ready for the task.
While Drinkwitz hasn’t coached in the conference in nearly a decade — his last SEC stint was as a quality control assistant at Auburn from 2010-11 — he said he still remembers how difficult each game was on any given Saturday. Now, Drinkwitz has the receipts to back that notion up: The Tigers feature four teams ranked in the preseason top-10.
“It is what it is,” Drinkwitz said. “I don’t know exactly how they came up with the schedule, that’s the only question I have. Don’t know what the criteria for the selection was, but they gave Mizzou Bama and LSU, so let’s go.”