COVID-19 and injury updates for Mizzou football. And about those ‘moral victories’ ...
Missouri Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz has no time for moral victories after the Tigers’ 38-19 loss to No. 2 Alabama. While Drinkwitz and his team are moving on from the loss, he said there were some teachable moments to be taken from their Saturday night season opener.
The first-year MU coach said none of the three phases of the Tigers’ game — offense, defense, special teams — was up to par against the Crimson Tide. He’s building a program for the long-term to compete for championships but said “we must first not beat ourselves.”
“There’s no, ‘We fought hard,’” Drinkwitz said. “That’s the expectation. Always compete is the expectation. That’s the bare minimum for what we’re trying to do here at Mizzou and what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re not just going to be satisfied for just being in the fight.”
The Tigers received some good news in recent days. Drinkwitz said Mizzou showed zero positives from Sunday’s round of COVID-19 testing, administered one day after the Alabama game in Columbia. The players took another test Tuesday and will have their final round of testing Thursday ahead of Saturday’s game against No. 21 Tennessee.
Teams are still being tested for COVID-19 three times per week, but the SEC moved the dates to ensure they get results in time ahead of Saturday games. Mizzou had some problems before the season in which inconclusive results knocked out a few players. Further testing showed they were negative, though.
Drinkwitz said some of his players were caught in a “gray area” — a four-day return-to-play protocol. Depending on the next few days and the results they bring, the Tigers could have some players back from quarantine.
Mizzou also saw its seventh player opt out of the 2020 season: linebacker Aubrey Miller. The redshirt junior from Memphis was expected to compete for playing time this year after a knee injury sidelined him for the majority of 2019.
The six other MU players who’ve opted out of the 2020 season are wide receivers Cjay Boone and Maurice Massey, safety Chris Shearin, offensive linemen Jack Buford and Thalen Robinson and defensive lineman Chris Daniels. Drinkwitz has supported the players who have decided to sit out because of the pandemic.
“We’re playing football this year and the expectation for us is to always put a team out there on the field,” Drinkwitz said. “With people leaving, that provides another opportunity for (other) people to play. It’s our job as coaches to get them ready.”
Drinkwitz also had an update on the status of cornerback Jarvis Ware, who suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of Saturday’s game and did not return. Ware is considered day-to-day, Drinkwitz said, and “we hope to get him turned around for Saturday.”
Depth chart update
Mizzou released its Week 2 depth chart and there weren’t too many changes on it. At quarterback, it’s still Shawn Robinson or Connor Bazelak at starter.
Drinkwitz said he’s open to playing two quarterbacks, as he did against Alabama. He said both players will get reps going forward.
Defensive lineman Trajan Jeffcoat, who recently rejoined the team and recorded a sack Saturday, is still a backup to Tre Williams at defensive end. The middle linebacker spot also saw an “or” added to it, between Devin Nicholson and Cameron Wilkins as the starter at that position.
Travel disadvantages
When Mizzou travels to Knoxville, Tennessee, this week, it won’t have to worry so much about the Vols’ home crowd. Neyland Stadium will filled at a maximum of about 25% capacity because of the pandemic, so while there will be home-field advantage for the team in orange, it won’t be quite the same as the noise that 100,000-plus fans would typically generate.
But with the pandemic comes a slew of other issues, many involving the logistics of travel. Drinkwitz said he’s unsure how difficult road trips will be this season, but he’s reached out to a few coaching colleagues to see what playing an away game has been like this season.
Mizzou will travel to and from the airport in additional buses so players can be more spread out, and road-roommate assignments have been shifted so there’s no “double jeopardy” when it comes to contact tracing, Drinkwitz said. He praised his logistics staff in adjusting to things on the fly.
“We’re all at a disadvantage because of the virus,” he said. “We’re all a disadvantage from the way we interact. Football is a chemistry game, it’s a chemistry sport.”