Why Mizzou football opening its season in 2 weeks isn’t all good news for the Tigers
The Missouri Tigers, after months of uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic, are finally within the two-week mark of when they open their season Sept. 26.
There’s just one problem with that: COVID-19’s incubation period.
Once a student-athlete tests positive for the novel coronavirus or has to go into quarantine because of contact tracing, they’re effectively held out of practice for two weeks. That means, MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz said, any player with a positive COVID-19 test from now until the season opener won’t suit up to play No. 3 Alabama.
Drinkwitz noted that they had one player test positive on Friday, which resulted in three total players headed into quarantine and out of practice. Those players are now unavailable for the season opener.
It’s just the latest chaos that comes with the pandemic and its impact on college sports, now with more pressing repercussions as the Tigers start prepping Tuesday for Alabama.
“I’ll update (the COVID-19 results) as we get closer to the ‘Bama week,” Drinkwitz said on a video call on Saturday. “... That’s an interesting dynamic. Being two weeks out and knowing that you can’t get anybody back is pretty interesting.”
Mizzou had a small uptick this week when it came to the virus, with seven players now testing positive for COVID-19. Last Tuesday, the Tigers had four positives with 14 players out of practice through contact tracing.
Those positive results have created some chaos at some positional groups — especially offensive line. Drinkwitz said the Tigers have had five starting left guards over the past five practices, another hurdle to cross for a position that needs reps and chemistry.
While coaches have always stressed the oftentimes-clichéd “next man up” mentality, it’s much more literal with injury and coronavirus concerns this season.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Drinkwitz said. “You can say next-man-up mentality and that’s what it is. … Nobody really cares about the excuse, they just expect the performance.”
The Tigers also lost a piece at the game’s most crucial position Friday when redshirt junior Taylor Powell announced he was planning to transfer. The quarterback race was between Powell, Shawn Robinson and Connor Bazelak — now it’s down to two players. Drinkwitz said he wishes the former MU quarterback well as Powell has two years of eligibility remaining.
While Powell wasn’t expected to start and struggled in his limited time in 2019, he provided depth at a time when players can become unavailabile for a game in a moment’s notice. The Tigers are now down to three scholarship quarterbacks with true freshman Brady Cook serving as the de facto third-string quarterback.
If injuries or COVID-19 sidelined Robinson and Bazelak in a game, it will likely mean Cook, a three-star quarterback from St. Louis, is pushed right into game action.
“He’s gotta be ready,” Drinkwitz said of Cook. “I think he’s handled some things really well. The last scrimmage he actually performed really well and had a good week of practice. Tonight, it moved a little fast for him. He really knows the playbook and he has a plan pre-snap.”
While the Tigers wrapped up their third scrimmage of camp — the defense played well, ending with three takeaways and multiple sacks — college football looked almost like a normal Saturday. The Big 12 and ACC, fellow Power Five conferences, kicked off their seasons, leading to a consistent stream of college football.
Drinkwitz gave a shout-out to his former Sun Belt colleagues in Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson and Louisiana’s Billy Napier for beating Kansas State and Iowa State, respectively. While Drinkwitz wasn’t sitting in front of the TV all day watching football, he said he did notice how different the first few weeks of the season will be because of altered training camps.
“Fundamentals, tackling and ball security are really showing up in every game,” Drinkwitz said. “There’s a fine line as a coach, how much physicality do you use in the preseason and risk injury. That’s the magic of coaching.”