Mizzou camp primer: Tigers’ QB battle, COVID-19 and where MU stands as practices begin
While the college football world spins on its heels, the Missouri Tigers open training camp Monday in preparation for the 2020 season.
MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz has 25 practices to get the Tigers to a level where they can compete over a modified 10-game SEC schedule, the details of which will be announced Monday evening on the SEC Network. For now, we know that Mizzou has recently added power-hitters Alabama and LSU to its fall league-only slate.
This season will be about more than simply coaching the on-field product for Drinkwitz, who was hired from Appalachian State in December. Attempting to play football during a pandemic adds layers of difficulty to the usual job description.
While the Tigers made it through just three spring practices before COVID-19 shut down all sports, they have been able to get in some work over the past few months. Voluntary workouts started in early June before transitioning to mandatory workouts. The past few weeks have included 20 hours of countable athletic activities weekly, including walkthroughs.
So where does that leave Mizzou football?
“Everybody respects each other’s time,” Mizzou linebacker Jamal Brooks said. “That’s the one thing in life you can’t get back. Everyone has 24 hours in the day — you can never get 24 back. We’ve just been in this thing together, taking it step-by-step. I’m very confident in this group that we have this year.”
Here are four areas to watch during a training camp like no one has ever seen before.
Opening weeks
So far, so good for Mizzou on the COVID-19 front, considering the Tigers’ low positivity rate. But the next few weeks will be revealing, and not just from a football perspective.
As students return from different parts of the country to Columbia, the likelihood of an outbreak increases. Part of why the SEC pushed its opening kickoff to Sept. 26 is because the conference wanted flexibility in case teams are affected by students coming back and the fall semester starting.
There’s also the physical element of donning pads and helmets and going through full practices. As Drinkwitz put it, “toughness matters,” and while walkthroughs are a fine way to install an offense, some Tigers will begin to separate themselves as positional battles intensify.
Getting off to a hot — and safe — start would do wonders toward a successful start to the season.
Under center
The No. 1 question for this team — one Drinkwitz says keeps him up at night — is who will win Mizzou’s quarterback battle. The trio of Shawn Robinson, Taylor Powell and Connor Bazelak are expected to compete for the job in Drinkwitz’s new offense.
Robinson is the expected starter after sitting out the 2019 season per NCAA rules after transferring from TCU. He started during parts of the 2017-18 seasons for the Horned Frogs, though he battled injuries that helped lead to his transfer.
Powell saw action in six games in 2019, including one start when former MU quarterback Kelly Bryant was injured. The redshirt junior threw for 297 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Bazelak is arguably the most intriguing of the three QB contenders, considering his youth and health. Drinkwitz said Bazelak is at 100% health now so he’s arguably a dark-horse candidate for the job. He played well in limited action last season.
“All of them have prepared themselves to make a run at it,” MU wide receiver Barrett Banister said. “Just having that mini-camp for those guys to get out there again, being off the football field for almost six, seven months, is an odd deal. I think the mini-camp was good for them to go out and be in the pocket and feel it out a little bit.”
The newcomers
Drinkwitz clearly didn’t like certain aspects of the team he inherited from Barry Odom, so he tried to upgrade them through recruiting and the NCAA transfer portal.
The Tigers added a few key players as graduate transfers, including Virginia Tech wide receiver Damon Hazelton, Angelo State wide receiver Keke Chism and offensive lineman Michael Maietti. All three additions are fairly proven commodities save perhaps Chism, who arrived from the Division II level. But Drinkwitz has already given his new offensive weapon a preliminary stamp of approval.
Hazelton, a two-time All-ACC performer, should immediately slot outside the numbers on offense. Maietti started 33 games for Rutgers over the past three seasons, making him an ideal candidate to take over the starting center gig.
Mizzou’s added several recruits who could make an impact. Some combination of Jay Maclin, JJ Hester, Kris Abrams-Driane and Chance Luper could contribute at receiver. Defensive back Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Drinkwitz’s prized recruit of the 2020 class, might also find his way onto the field early.
Notably, Drinkwitz said no freshman newcomers have earned the right to a jersey number just yet, which is why they’re listed without digits on the fall 2020 roster. They’ll have to earn that right, the coach said.
Defensive continuity
Defense is one area in which Mizzou has continuity because of some coaching holdovers.
Drinkwitz retained three assistants from Odom’s staff: defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, defensive line coach Brick Haley and secondary coach David Gibbs. That gives returning players on that side of the ball an extra sense of comfort not only from a schematic viewpoint but also coaching style.
The Mizzou defense lost its share of contributors from last year but still boasts talent. Plenty of battles loom. Linebacker Nick Bolton is arguably the No. 1 at his position after a stellar 2019. Defensive tackle Kobie Whiteside should wreak havoc from the interior of the line. And the smooth safety tandem of Tyree Gillespie and Joshuah Bledsoe is one of the better units in the SEC.
But who lines up next to Bolton in Walters’ 4-2-5 defense? Brooks is a candidate, as are guys like Devin Nicholson and Cameron Wilkins. Who emerges at defensive end? Who are the cornerbacks for game one?
The Tigers weren’t perfect by any means in 2019, but their defense kept games close even during a five-game losing streak. MU’s pass defense ranked near the best in the nation.
Walters, who followed Odom from Memphis to Mizzou, is without his mentor for the first time. Odom was defensive-minded coach, more or less the opposite of Drinkwitz, who says he won’t touch the defense much.
There’s a lot to like about this year’s Mizzou defense, but it’s worth keeping an eye on who emerges from a number of key positional battles across the roster.