How Mizzou football, Drinkwitz plan to use unexpected off-week to keep improving
Missouri Tigers coach Eliah Drinkwitz already has a segment of his weekend plans squared away:
“I’m going to recruit,” he said.
Of course, all of that is being done online during the COVID-19 pandemic and the NCAA-mandated arecruiting dead period. But the first-year coach MU said he’ll stream games while evaluating potential future Tigers.
As for the rest of his newfound free time, perhaps he’ll go to a “pumpkin patch” with his family as the weather cools in Columbia.
“I don’t know, I haven’t really gotten that far,” Drinkwitz said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “I’ll have to see what the wife has planned. We’ll do some recruiting, I know that.”
The Tigers had another last-second adjustment to the schedule as their Saturday game against Vanderbilt was postponed to Dec. 12. The SEC announced the change Monday, adding the decision was because of “positive tests and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Vanderbilt football program.”
That leaves Drinkwitz’s team without an opponent this weekend. It’s the first SEC football game affected by COVID-19 in 2020. The league switched to a 10-game, conference-only schedule this fall because of the pandemic, axing non-conference games to keep testing protocols uniform.
Drinkwitz said the off-week couldn’t have come at a better time, calling it a “tremendous blessing.” Mizzou stands at 1-2 following a last-second 45-41 win over LSU, the defending national champion.
The grueling nature of playing three ranked SEC foes to start the season has taken a toll, he said. The Tigers were down multiple starters to the virus and injuries last weekend, and others played through some pain.
With the extra time between games — Mizzou’s next opponent is No. 10 Florida on Oct. 24 — that means the Tigers can work on fundamentals while also licking their wounds.
“Now for us, we turn our attention to ourselves,” Drinkwitz said. “An unexpected bye week. Focus on what we can control, which is how do we improve and get better specifically in fundamental areas.”
Drinkwitz added another key component that’s a low-key positive for his players: Academics. It’s midterms week for his Tigers, so instead of game-planning against an opponent Saturday, they can study notes instead of film.
Mizzou will also take some looks at its own reflection. Drinkwitz said his assistants will sit down with each player on the roster this week to pinpoint areas in need of improvements. With those in mind, they’ll take the practice field to strengthen those weaknesses.
There is one area that’s been a consistent problem for the Tigers so far: “We gotta value the ball more,” Drinkwitz said.
Mizzou has muffed three punts in three games, which Drinkwitz called unacceptable. And defensively, the Tigers have forced just one takeaway through three games, far below the coach’s expectation of forcing two turnovers per game.
“We’re a 1-2 football team that really has to focus on ball security,” Drinkwitz said. “For us, that’s an extreme point of emphasis that we have to make to our players and our staff that we have to improve. Not only in our ball security but in taking the ball away from them.”
Drinkwitz, in just his third game at MU, has injected energy into a program that had fallen to the wayside in recent years. The LSU win, he said, is just the jumping off-point for the rest of the season — MU has seven more games scheduled.
“The key to momentum is always improving,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s how you keep moving forward: always improve. That’s what we’re going to do this week. I have zero control this year. So whatever happens, we gotta make the most of it. It does come at a good time from a health standpoint and getting better.”
Injury update
While the Tigers plan to nurse their bumps and bruises through the off week, it won’t be that simple for some players.
Drinkwitz said defensive tackle Kobie Whiteside (right leg) will be re-evaluated during the Nov. 7 off-week and won’t be back immediately. The coach also said defensive lineman Darius Robinson (right ankle) is aiming for an Oct. 31 return against Kentucky.
Nick Bolton (undisclosed) and Jarvis Ware (knee) were dealing with some pain during the LSU win, Drinkwitz said.